Myanmar foresters learn to ‘dung it’

YANGON – A US-based conservation group has trained Myanmar forestry staffers to conduct wild elephant population surveys by counting piles of elephant dung.

Simon Hedges of the Wildlife Conservation Society, who conducted a seminar in Hukawng Valley in northern Kachin State in February, said counting piles of elephant dung was one of the most effective methods of surveying elephant populations, the Myanmar Times reported. “It’s much easier to find dung than to find elephants,” he was quoted as saying.The training included teaching surveyors how to search for dung, how to use global positioning system equipment to record its location and how to distinguish the dung of wild elephants from that of domestic elephants.Hedges said the training will help researchers determine whether the elephant population is stable, increasing or decreasing and to learn if management polices in protected areas like the Hukawng Valley are effective.The wildlife expert said the number of elephants in Myanmar was unknown because of difficult access to the country’s dense forests.Hedges said elephants in northern Kachin State were threatened by poachers who kill the animals for ivory and hides.- Nampa-AP”It’s much easier to find dung than to find elephants,” he was quoted as saying.The training included teaching surveyors how to search for dung, how to use global positioning system equipment to record its location and how to distinguish the dung of wild elephants from that of domestic elephants.Hedges said the training will help researchers determine whether the elephant population is stable, increasing or decreasing and to learn if management polices in protected areas like the Hukawng Valley are effective.The wildlife expert said the number of elephants in Myanmar was unknown because of difficult access to the country’s dense forests.Hedges said elephants in northern Kachin State were threatened by poachers who kill the animals for ivory and hides.- Nampa-AP