Myanmar captures rare white elephant in western jungles

Myanmar’s forestry department has captured a rare white elephant in the jungles of the country’s western Ayeyarwaddy region, an official said on Sunday.

The 7-year-old female was captured Friday, six weeks after it was initially spotted in a reserve in Pathein township, forestry official Tun Tun Oo said. It’s the ninth white elephant in captivity in the country.

“We had to be careful,” Tun Tun Oo said of the 1.9-metre-tall elephant. “It’s wild. We didn’t want the elephant or the forestry department officials to get hurt.” White elephants, which are actually albinos, have been revered for centuries in Myanmar, Laos and other Asian nations.