YANGON, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will soon open a first elephant museum in Myanmar's Yangon next month, according to the forest department Wednesday.

Funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the elephant museum will be opened as a part of the Natural History Museum in Yangon Zoological Garden compound on Sunday to commemorate World Wildlife Day.

The museum, which will be operated by the Forest Department, aims to raise people's awareness of the protection and conservation of wildlife.

Educational materials and messages will be showcased in both Myanmar and English language for the public to stress the importance of elephants, threats they are facing and how to take measures to protect the country's wild and domesticated elephants.

At present, there are about 1,500 wild elephants and 5,000 domesticated ones in the country.