A white elephant calf born by the female elephant, Zar Nan Hla at Khutite elephant camp in Taungup Township of Rakhine State and some other elephants were brought to Taungup port by cars in the morning of October 11, accompanied by heavy security presence of the Military Council troops, locals said.

An eyewitness woman from Thayaraye village said that four elephants, including the white elephant calf, were taken to Taungup under strict security on the morning of October 11.

“Each elephant was taken in a truck. There were other small cars behind them. The convoy also included five military vehicles carrying about a hundred soldiers. Behind them, cars loaded with food for the elephants followed”, she said.

A local said these elephants were embarked at the Shwe Lin Yone Port in Taungup, but it was not known where they would be taken yet.

“The elephants have been placed at the Shwe Lin Yone Port. Soldiers are going around the city. Security is also tight along the way to the port. It is not yet known how the elephants will be transported”, he said.

The white elephant calf was born on July 23 at the Burmese Forest Elephant Park in Khutite elephant camp in Taungup Township. The press release of the Military Council announced on August 3 that the calf was identified as a white elephant because it matched the 7 characteristics of the Auspicious White Elephants.

In the past, 9 white elephants appeared in Myanmar, and only the first one matched all 7 characteristics of Auspicious White Elephants. Of the remaining 8, at most 6 characteristics were matched. This white elephant calf is very special as it matches all 7 characteristics of Auspicious White Elephants, spokesperson for the Military Council Major General Zaw Min Tun said at a press conference.

7 out of 10 white elephants ever found in Myanmar came from Rakhine State. The white elephants were kept in Naypyidaw and Yadana White Elephant Garden near Mindhama Hill in Yangon