The Elephant Museum in Myanmar aims to protect and preserve wild elephants living in natural forest areas, reduce conflicts between humans and elephants, and raise public awareness about elephant conservation and the illegal trade of elephant parts. The museum also provides information about the management and care of domestic elephants, promotes understanding of elephants’ natural behavior, and highlights the relationship between humans and elephants to encourage cooperation in conservation efforts.

Detailed Information

In honor of World Wildlife Conservation Day on March 3, 2019, Yangon Zoo opened Myanmar’s very first Elephant Museum inside the Natural History Museum building. This milestone marked an important step in raising public awareness about elephants and wildlife conservation in Myanmar.

The objectives of opening the Elephant Museum are to conserve and protect wild elephants living in natural forests, reduce human–elephant conflicts, and increase public awareness to prevent the killing of wild elephants and the illegal trade of elephant parts. The museum also aims to improve understanding of the management and care of captive elephants, increase knowledge about the natural behavior of elephants and their relationship with humans, and promote collaborative conservation efforts.

The Elephant Museum exhibits a wide range of items for public education, including fossil remains of elephants from millions of years ago, equipment used on elephants’ bodies, elephant monitoring cameras and related tools, artifacts made from tusks and bones, and elephant skeletons. Rare and seldom-seen items such as black ivory, elephant skulls, tusks, tusk fragments, lower jaws, and molar teeth are also displayed to provide knowledge and awareness to visitors.