The female pachyderm was captured by officials on Saturday in the coastal town of Maungtaw in Rakhine state, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

She is aged about 38 and seven feet four inches (more than two metres) tall, the English-language paper said, although it did not mention where she would be kept.

Kings and leaders in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, have traditionally treasured white elephants, whose rare appearances in the country are believed to herald good fortune, including power and political change.

Two private planes for Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe and four other top leaders were named "White Elephant" this year on the advice of astrologers, according to the Irrawaddy, a respected Thailand-based magazine on Myanmar.

The junta chief is described by critics and some experts on the regime as deeply superstitious. A popular Yangon astrologer told the Irrawaddy that the name was not only designed to avert bad luck but also a portent to defeat enemies.

Myanmar, which has been military-ruled since 1962, is due to hold its first elections for two decades later this year, although a date has not yet been announced.

Despite their name, the elephants' skin is more pink than white.

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