I cannot see what benefit this will have for continued wild elephant survival in Laos. The study zooms in on just a tiny fraction of the elephant population in the country. The Baby Bonus programme may be a partial solution for an essentially human (dependency) issue, but the only real solution for wildlands, flora and fauna is to protect sufficient and effectively protected habitats AND to conserve wild elephants effectively by enabling those to breed in the wilds of Laos (and other S.E. Asian nations). In the first place, the (illegal) capture of elephants from the wild is and remains one of the major sources of captive elephants in S.E. Asia. It further is one of the major / principal threats to the wild elephant populations in S.E. Asia (Thailand, Malaysia) having and in Indochina from disappearing. Thus I am a bit flabbergasted that the researchers have not taken this road. One can understand I have similar reservations towards captive (rescue) centers where the emphasis is on rescue and not rehabilitation to the wilds. If those elephants cannot be rehabilitated than the only solution is conservation breeding centers in- / ex-situ. There is a serious problem in S.E. Asia AND southern Indian Sub-Continent (too ...) with the welfare of captive elephants in private hands and even some of the (rescue) centers and thus for sustainability and survival of Asiatic elephants sakes'in the region it would be best if most if not all where set aside for captive-breeding or rehabilitation.
