A 70-year-old elephant died last Tuesday due to hunger and cold weather while it was on the way to perform circus in the central province of Quang Nam.

Elephants in central highlands are believed to suffer harsh treatment and abuse.

The body of the 4-ton elephant has been destroyed and the place where it died has been sterilized, said Nguyen Van Ngu, chairman of People’s Committee of Thang Binh District.

The elephant, named Ho Nun, came from the Don village in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and was hired by the animal circus troupe Hoang Nam.

The circus troupe brought Ho Nun and other animals to Binh Tri Commune in Quang Nam for performances on October 15.

However, because of continuous rain in the past days, the troupe couldn’t perform as scheduled.

Truong Van Nam, head of the troupe, said Ho Nun died on October 20 and had shown signs of slowness, tiredness, and anorexia before its death.

Nguyen Van Dien, chairman of Binh Tri Commune’s People’s Committee, said some days ago, local residents found the troupe using a crane to carry the dead elephant body.

Following their tip-offs, local authorities arrived at the scene and asked them to destroy the body in line with environmental rules and local customs and practices.

An examination by the province’s veterinary agency concluded that because of old age, the elephant couldn’t get used to being transported in barren and cramped cages for long time.

When it arrived in Quang Nam, it also suffered from cold weather and a shortage of food.

Elephants in Vietnam have long been threatened by poachers who kill them for tusks and cut off their tails for hair to make jewelries, particularly rings, to sell them to tourists because elephant hair is believed to bring good luck.

On the other hand, circus elephants have raised concerns in recent years because of their aggressive acts.

Last Sunday, an 11-year-old girl in the northern province of Lao Cai was crushed to death when she was feeding a circus elephant nicknamed Na owned by the Vietnam Circus Federation.

In April 2010, another circus elephant grabbed a 13-year-old boy with his trunk and slammed him twice on the ground after he and some friends allegedly enraged it by pulling its tail and throwing stones at it.

These acts are thought to be the result of the long captivity, harsh treatment, and abuse that circus elephants have been suffering.