Wild Elephant Found Dead in East Aceh

Banda Aceh, TAG. The corpse of a wild male elephant has been found near a palm plantation owned by PT Bumi Flora in East Aceh district, an official said on Monday.



Ridwan, who serves at the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), confirmed on Monday that the body of the elephant had been discovered by a local on Friday. 



“When I found the body, one of its tusks had been sawn off. I was informed that the elephant was poisoned deliberately,” Ridwan said. 



“However, there are also rumors that it was strangled by a high-voltage cable set by [Bumi Flora] to prevent elephants and other wild animals from entering its palm plantation.” 



He added that he would join members of an environmental organization from East Aceh who were being sent to investigate the death of the animal. The team will head to the location today. 



According to locals, Ridwan said, the elephant had died two days before its body was reported to local government officials. 



“We are definitely serious about investigating this case, especially considering one of its tusks had been deliberately sawn off,” he said. 



He explained that run ins with the elephants in the region have been on the rise in recent months as expanding plantations encroach deeper into their habitat. 



“People shouldn’t blame the elephants for ruining local farms because their food habitat has been depleted by the plantations, and palms are one of their favorites foods,” he said. 



According to Ridwan, many people had gathered to get a glimpse of the dead elephant. He added that a number of power cables surrounded the dead elephant’s body. 



“I don’t know if the elephant died because of those cables or if was it poisoned,” he said. 



In May, another elephant was killed at a palm plantation run by PT MPLI in Tamiang district. Its tusks were also removed and the body was butchered before being cast into a nearby river.[]