The aim of this project, funded by the Ensemble Foundation, is to contribute to the health of wild elephants in Laos —an endangered species in the country— by qualitatively identifying the key plant species in their diet. This work provides a basis for wild elephant conservation authorities in Laos to characterize the ecosystems that must be preserved as a priority for the elephants’ survival.

  S&B organization was commissioned by the Insttute for Research and Development (IRD) to carry out this work, which we conducted in the Namphouy Protected Area (Sayaboury Province) based on observations made by mahouts and forest monitoring of village elephants, which are periodically released the NPA. These elephants are not actually fed; instead, they forage for themselves in the surrounding natural areas, and their mahouts have accumulated a wealth of knowledge over generations about their diet and feeding behaviors. 

We thus compiled a list of 114 species consumed by elephants, recording the parts eaten and the species favored depending on the season or the animals’ physiological condition.

This study represents a pioneering work in Laos, where no inventory of the elephant diet had yet been conducted. It also highlighted specific plant consumption patterns among elephants suffering from various ailments, as well as among females during their maternity period, which spans from gestation to lactation.

This knowledge is valuable not only for the conservation of wild elephants, but also for promoting the well-being and health of elephants living in elephant centers. We have shared all of the data collected during this survey to the NGO Elephant Conservation Center (ECC), which shares it with the younger generation of mahouts working in elephant centers.