Elemed: Elephants, mahouts, and medicinal plants

This project consisted in studying the feeding and self-medication behaviors of elephants based on the knowledge of mahouts who live and work with them, and documenting the traditional care provided to these animals when they are ill. It was the subject of a PhD thesis defended at the National Museum of Natural History, which we funded.

During field trips to the forest and interviews, our PhD student worked with the mahouts to compile an inventory of the diets of their elephants as they forage in their natural habitat and documented their elephant care practices. 

Furthermore, guided by these observations, the mahouts use these plants not only in the care they give to their elephants but also within their own homes, for themselves and their families.

The study was carried out in the Sayaboury Province - Laos, with the assistance of the NGO Elephant Conservation Center (ECC). The Insttute for Research and Development (IRD), which supervised this project funded by the Ekhagastiftelsen Foundation, entrusted our organization with the task conducting the field surveys and analyzing the collected data.

The study was conducted in Sayaboury Province, Laos, with the assistance of the NGO Elephant Conservation Center (ECC). The Institute for  Reseach  and development, which supervised this project funded by the Ekhagastiftelsen Foundation, entrusted our association with organizing field missions and conducting surveys, as well as analyzing the data collected.

All the data collected (on the elephants' diet and traditional care practices) has been made available to ECC, which uses it to improve the well-being of the elephants in the center's care, as well as in the curriculum offered by the center as part of the “Mahout Academy,” established to train new generations of mahouts.