Forest rangers in Vietnam's central highlands have discovered a herd of 32 wild elephants, the largest ever found in the country, an official said Wednesday, DPA reported.
The herd was spotted Dak Lak province May 21, and includes five to six fully grown males and four or five young, said Truong Van Truong, director of Yok Don National Park.
Y Rit Buon Ya, deputy director of the provincial agriculture department, said plans to protect the elephants were being delayed by uncertainty about whether the animals belong to Vietnam or Cambodia. The herd likely migrates across the border.
Ya said an "emergency action plan" to protect elephants in the province, first announced in 2006, has not been approved by the Dak Lak People's Committee.
Dak Lak is home to an estimated 80 wild and 40 domestic elephants. The plan recommends spending 80 billion dong (430,000 dollars) to protect them.
Last week, a forest official said seven of the 15 wild elephants of Dong Nai province had died since the country called for national elephant preservation efforts in 2006.