A male elephant in Mondulkiri is the first in Indochina to be fitted with a radio

tracking collar.

A joint team of Flora Fauna International and forestry administration staff collared

the animal, which is of unknown age and with uncut tusks, last Wednesday in Bu Sra

commune.

The purpose of the collar is to "understand how elephants use their habitat,"

said Joe Heffernan, Indochina elephant program coordinator for FFI. It could also

act as an early warning alert system to warn villagers of potential raids. Similar

projects in Malaysia have met with success.

A full-time field team of forestry administration staff will monitor the movement

of the elephant, which will wear the collar for one year. The US Fish and Wildlife

Service were primary donors to the project, the collar itself costing $10,000.