LAMPANG, March 13 (TNA) – The Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang offered morning alms to monks to mark the National Elephant Day on March 13.
Governor of Lampang, along with officials and the public, joined by the pachyderms offered dry food alms to 16 monks.
To celebrate the event, the center held an elephant food stall competition in which contestants from various organizations and educational institutes beautifully decorated food stalls with their fruit-carving skill for the jumbos.
Suan Dusit University, Lampang campus won the first prize and the people’s choice award. The Muang Yao Municipality won the 1st runner-up, and the Wor Kaew Sub-District Administration Organization as the 2nd runner-up.
Today, a large-scale meal offering will be provided for the elephants to enjoy and relax and there is no elephant show today to allow them to rest.
National Elephant Day was initiated by the Thai Elephant Conservation Committee to raise awareness about the importance of elephant conservation efforts.
The committee initially considered the date of King Naresuan the Great’s victorious battle over the Burmese invaders in the legandary elephant duel. However, that date is already used as Thai Armed Forces Day, so they chose March 13. After the cabinet’s approval, National Elephant Day was declared in 1998. -819 (TNA)