Six elephants from Laos are scheduled to be loaned to Tohoku Safari Park in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, and other places in the Tohoku region for three years to support areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has been learned.
The elephants will arrive in Japan as early as July.
The population of elephants in Laos, including both wild and domestic ones, is believed to be from 800 to 1,300. Some of them are used to move large items.
The company that operates the safari park requested the elephants' owner and the Laotian government loan it the animals.
The Japanese government supported the move, asking Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong for his help during his visit to Japan in March. The Laotian government accepted the request.
The six elephants, owned by an individual, will be loaned to Iwate Safari Park in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, and World Monkey Park in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, in addition to Tohoku Safari Park.
The Foreign Ministry plans to appoint the six pachyderms "Japan-Laos goodwill elephants."
Six elephants from Laos are scheduled to be loaned to Tohoku Safari Park in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, and other places in the Tohoku region for three years to support areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has been learned.
The elephants will arrive in Japan as early as July.
The population of elephants in Laos, including both wild and domestic ones, is believed to be from 800 to 1,300. Some of them are used to move large items.
The company that operates the safari park requested the elephants' owner and the Laotian government loan it the animals.
The Japanese government supported the move, asking Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong for his help during his visit to Japan in March. The Laotian government accepted the request.
The six elephants, owned by an individual, will be loaned to Iwate Safari Park in Ichinoseki, Iwate Prefecture, and World Monkey Park in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, in addition to Tohoku Safari Park.
The Foreign Ministry plans to appoint the six pachyderms "Japan-Laos goodwill elephants."
