In early 2008, the death of a four-year-old male Asian elephant in the tourist Mecca of Luang Prabang ignited a public battle that epitomises the clash between conservation and commercial interests.
The death of Somneut provoked an unseemly outbreak of public finger pointing between the Elephant Xieng Lom (XL) Camp and a Laos-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), ElefantAsia.
Laos was once named the ‘Kingdom of Lan Xang’, or ‘Land of a Million Elephants’. In the Luang Prabang of the past, richly caparisoned tuskers would accompany regal processions. Now there are less than 1,000 elephants left in the wild, while around 560 have been domesticated. Domesticated elephants form part of an age-old mahout culture in two major Laos provinces, many of which can often be seen carrying pink, sunburnt travellers.