Hanoi - Vietnamese forest wardens in the southern province of Dong Nai have found three dead elephants, raising the number of dead elephants found in the Cat Tien National Park in the past month to five, a forest official said Thursday. "We have several times proposed to our superior agencies to grant money for us to preserve this herd of elephants, but it has been so long and the money has not come yet," said Nguyen Van Minh, head of the park's Forest Warden Division.
The state-run Lao Dong newspaper on Thursday reported the dead elephants, believed to be a mother and two offspring, were found by local people who reported them to authorities.
Minh said authorities went to the site Tuesday but did not know the time or cause of the deaths.
Two more dead elephants were found in the park June 16.
Asian elephants are listed as an endangered species.
Cat Tien National Park is located about 150 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City and protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical rainforests left in Vietnam.
