Photos: Detik.com, Tribunnews.com, Aceh Portal [1], [2], Forest Nature and Environment Aceh Facebook and Waspada Online

Indonesia: Pregnant Elephant ‘poisoned’ in Indonesian palm plantation
27th December 2017;

A pregnant Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) has been found dead in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, in what authorities suspect was a deliberate poisoning, an official said Wednesday.

The animal’s body was found near the remote Seuneubok Bayu village in Aceh on December 22, after authorities received a tip off from locals, Aceh conservation centre head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.

“The 25-year-old Elephant had been dead for around 10 days when we got there,” he said.

"From the autopsy, we saw that its digestive organs turned black which the doctor said was a general indication of poisoning.”

The Sumatran Elephant was carrying 13-month old male foetus and was at least six months short of giving birth.

Locals have told authorities that several days before the carcass was discovered farmers had complained an Elephant ate their fertilizer.

Sumatran Elephant are critically endangered and a protected species, but rampant deforestation for plantations has reduced their natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans.

At least 11 wild Elephants died in Aceh this year, most of them killed by humans, according to Prabowo.

In January, authorities found a dead Elephant without tusks in Aceh, along with its abandoned 11-month-old calf.

Source: AFP, via Jakarta Post

Indonesia: Wild Elephants run amok after trapped calf dies in hole

By Apriadi Gunawan, 28th October 2017;

A herd of 12 wild Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) ran amok in a village in Langkat regency, North Sumatra, after failing to rescue an Elephant calf that was trapped in a hole.

Nine coconut trees, eight palm trees, five shacks and a jackfruit tree owned by the local residents of Sumber Waras village, Batang Serangan subdistrict, Langkat regency, were destroyed by the raging Elephants. No one was killed in the incident.

North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Region II conservation head Herbert Aritonang said the Elephants went on a rampage after they witnessed the baby Elephant die in a narrow hole 1.5 meters deep.

For three days, the wild Elephants attempted to rescue the trapped calf, but they instead pushed it deeper into the hole, which likely existed because of a removed stump, he said. “The baby Elephant’s body was pushed down because the soil around the hole fell down and covered half of its body,” Herbert told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

A joint team of officials from the BKSDA, Mount Leuser National Park and several NGOs found the baby Elephant dead on Sunday. However, the team could not easily recover the corpse because the herd lingered around it, Herbert said.

In order to ensure the safety of the team, they buried the corpse in the hole. “We found the baby Elephant dead with half of its body and four legs buried; only its back and head were visible. So our team covered it with soil to bury it,” Herbert said.

The 12 wild Elephants, comprising two males and several females and baby Elephants, lingered in the village area, which directly borders the national park, several days after the baby Elephant died.

They made loud noises and damaged the area, Herbert said, adding that the joint team had since deployed several personnel to protect the village and the local residents from the Elephants.

The population of Sumatran Elephants, who are a critically endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, plummeted to 1,700 in 2014 from 2,400 in 2007, according to data from the Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum.

Human-wildlife conflict is suspected to be a contributing factor to the population’s decline.

Several months ago, a 12-year old female Elephant was found dead from suspected poisoning near the national park in Barak Gajah village, Sei Lepan subdistrict, Langkat.

Meanwhile, BKSDA spokesperson Alfianto Siregar said the incident marked the first time wild Elephants showed aggressive behavior in the village.

Groups of wild Elephants usually passed by the village once every three months and they never got into conflicts with the residents, who were used to seeing Elephants in the area, he said.

The team’s investigation found no indication that the baby Elephant died from human interference, such as from poison or an Elephant trap, Alfianto said, adding that the calf died purely because it was trapped.

Source: Jakarta Post

Photo: Forum Konservasi Leuser, on Detik.com

Indonesia: Aceh conservation agency finds dead Elephant while rescuing stranded calf
By M Haris SA, 18th January 2017;

A dead Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) was found in an oil palm concession area in East Aceh on Saturday (14/01), according to Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, or BKSDA.

“Autopsy results seem to suggest the Elephant died from being shot – but we are not sure if was deliberately hunted or shot accidentally. There might be other factors,” BKSDA Chief Sapto Aji Prabowo told state news agency Antara on Monday (16/01).

“The Elephant was identified as a male adult aged 30, and when we found the carcass, the tusks were gone,” Sapto added.

The autopsy revealed five bullet holes in the Elephant’s neck and back, though no traces of the bullets were found.

The alleged perpetrator of the Elephant’s murder is still on the run. The case is being dealt with by the police.

The dead Elephant was found by BKSDA officers in the oil palm concession area Dwi Kencana Semesta on Saturday while they were on another Elephant mission of a different nature.

The BKSDA officers were on a rescue mission to save a stranded baby Elephant found by local villagers in Banda Alam on Friday (13/01).

The malnourished Elephant calf has been sent for medical care at the Elephant Conservation Center in Saree, Aceh Besar.

Source: Jakarta Globe

Photo: Detik.com

Indonesia: Four Sumatran Elephants died in Riau in 2016: WWF
3rd January 2017;

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has said that four Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) died in 2016 in Riau Province, a decline from the previous year.

“In 2015, there were 10 cases of dead Elephants, while in 2016, the number decreased to four,” Spokesperson of WWF of the Riau Program Syamsidar said here on Tuesday.

The four deaths are believed to have occurred due to conflict between humans and wild animals.

Last year, the Tesso Nilo National Park Authority found the carcass of a Sumatran Elephant in Pelalawan District.

They also found a Sumatran Elephant snared in an industrial forest concession. The animal did not survive despite treatment.

In September last year, an Elephant calf was found trapped in a ditch in an industrial forest concession with wounds all over its body.

“An Elephant also died after being electrocuted in Duri region, near a residential area,” Syamsidar said.

No suspects were either identified or arrested in these cases, Syamsidar said.

WWF, an international non-governmental organization in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of humanitys footprint on the environment, estimated there were around 100 Sumatran elephants living in the Sumatran habitat.

As the landscapes and the habitats make way for industry and residential areas, wildlife is facing greater challenges for survival.

Although conflict between humans and wildlife is inevitable, Syamsidar said that the local authority and several private enterprises, which have forest concessions in Riau, have been working together to prevent and mitigate the conflict.

Only three private enterprises, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), Asian Agri and PT Musim Mas, have been involved in this effort by adopting the human-wildlife conflict mitigation system being implemented by the WWF and Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of Riau.

RAPP has established a so-called flying squad, consisting of at least four grown Elephants and two calves, whose task is to conduct patrols around the concession area to avert human-wildlife conflict as well as prevent Elephant herds trespassing into residential areas or villages.

Asian Agri has a similar program but they conduct patrolling without using Elephants, Syamsidar said.

“They perform the patrol manually, without any Elephants, but still adopt the measures used by the WWF, such as using a carbide cannon,” he said.

PT Musim Mas, however, is committed to provide financial support for the program, Syamsidar said.

Source: Antara

Rescue work: Volunteers medically treat two Sumatran Elephants whose legs were injured by a steel trap in Pancasila hamlet, Sei Lepan district, Langkat North Sumatra, on Monday. The Elephants freed themselves after four days of being snared by the mechanism.
Photo: Apriadi Gunawan

Indonesia: Young Elephants free themselves from trap
By Apriadi Gunawan, 22nd November 2016;

After being trapped in a steel snare for four days, two wild Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in the Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) managed to free themselves from the trap, although their legs were severely injured and infected.

The mammals were trapped in a community-owned oil palm plantation in Sei Lepan district, Langkat regency, North Sumatra.

Garendel Siboro, head of technical affairs at the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said both of the Elephants were females.

Garendel added that they were considered relatively young, with the smaller one believed to be approximately eight years of age and the larger one estimated at 10 years.

The acting team leader of the Elephant rescue operation said his office had received a report about two Elephants caught in a trap set by local residents, but only after the animals had already managed to free themselves from the legholds, with their injured legs still entangled in steel cables.

Garendel said the BKSDA then dispatched a team including volunteers from several NGOs to look for the Elephants. They were found in a critical state at the plantation in Sei Lepan on Friday.

The BKSDA enlisted the help of two veterinarians to remove the cables, which are as thick as a finger, from the Elephants’ legs.

Citing the report from villagers, Garendel said residents had been afraid to approach the animals, because their mother, approximately 20 years old, had been watching closely.

Garendel added that before being trapped, the two young Elephants had been with their mother in search of food on the plantation, in a herd with 11 more Elephants. Along the way, Garendel said, the two young Elephants were caught in traps deliberately built by farmers concerned about the large number of Elephants near their plantation.

The official explained that the wild Elephants had been forced out of their habitat in the TNGL area because their natural surroundings had been damaged by rampant illegal logging and the expansion of oil palm plantations.

“Many sections of the TNGL buffer zone area have been converted to oil palm plantation. As a result, Elephants have lost their habitat and are forced to seek food outside of their habitat,” said Garendel.

North Sumatra BKSDA Conservation Section head Herbert Aritonang said the condition of the two injured Elephants was improving after they received treatment from the vet team.

The Elephants are now entrusted to a privately owned plantation until they recover and are able to walk normally.

“If they have fully recovered and able to walk normally, then we will release and escort them to their herd to meet the other Elephants,” said Herbert.

Source: Jakarta Post

Photo: Okezone

Indonesia: Injured Elephant calf dies in Bengkalis forest plantation
9th September 2016;

An injured Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) calf reportedly died in an industrial forest plantation in Bengkalis district, Riau, on Thursday (08/09), a day after it was found.

“The Elephant was found in a forest plantation, not in the conservation area,” Fifian J. Yogaswara, head of the technical department at the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in Riau, told Antara in Pekanbaru.

He said BKSDA Riau field officers received information on Wednesday that the calf had been found in the Arara Abadi industrial plantation.

According to Fifian, the calf was still alive at the time, but with half its body submerged in a water reservoir.

“We were trying to help the animal, but because we asked for assistance from [local nongovernmental organization] Vesswick in Medan [North Sumatra] and backup from the Pekanbaru office, help only arrived at around 8.00 a.m. on Thursday,” Fifian said. “But we were too late.”

He said he strongly suspects that the Elephant was part of a herd that lives in the Balai Raja wildlife conservation area, which borders the Arara Abadi concession.

Fifian further suspects that the calf became separated from its mother due to illness and that it died as a result of multiple stab wounds.

BKSDA Riau will be conducting an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.

Meanwhile, Arara Abadi spokesperson Nurul Huda said the Elephant calf was spotted with injuries and infected wounds on its legs.

“The injured calf was trying to find water, which led it to the site’s water reservoir,” she said.

Although a teams from Arara Abadi and BKSDA Riau managed to remove the Elephant from the reservoir, it succumbed due to its poor health condition.

Source: Jakarta Globe

Photo: Antara Photo/Syifa Yulinnas
Other photos from VIVANEWS and Kompas

Indonesia: Mounting Losses
18th April 2016;

A male Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) lies dead on the grounds of the Dwi Kencana Semesta palm oil plantation in East Aceh on Sunday (14/07). Police are still investigating what caused the death of the 5-year-old pachyderm. Data from Aceh’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) show that 21 Sumatran Elephants have been killed by local residents between 2014 and 2016.

Source: Jakarta Globe

Indonesia: Sumatran Elephants poisoned, electrocuted

By Apriadi Gunawan and Jon Afrizal, 28th February 2016;

Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) populations have been continuing to decrease mainly due to illegal hunting, which uses various methods to kill the protected giant mammal, from poisoning to electrocution.

“Recently, we found many Elephants dead from poisoning and electrocution. The illegal hunters consider those ways not too risky,” Doni Gunaryadi of the Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum (FKGI) told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Doni said almost every month an Elephant was found dead in Sumatra due to illegal hunting that takes place in eight of the island’s nine provinces.

He said that today there was no Elephant hunting in West Sumatra because there had been no Elephants in the province since 2007 when their habitat in Kota Panjang was used for the construction of a hydro power plant.

According to the FKGI’s data, the Elephant population across Sumatra is estimated to have reached 2,400 in 2007, but had decreased to 1,700 elephants in 2014.

Doni said there had been an increase in illegal hunting recently due to high prices being paid for the animal’s tusks.

For a super quality tusk, he said, the price could reach tens of millions of rupiah per kilogram while the price of a small tusk could reach millions of rupiah per kilogram.

He said tusks of Sumatran Elephants were sold in and outside of Sumatra, reaching Bali and East Nusa Tenggara where foreign buyers were waiting. “The buyers are mostly foreigners. They love Sumatran Elephant tusks because they’re beautifully shaped and strong,” he said.

Besides illegal hunting, Doni said, the decreasing population of the Elephants was also caused by the expansion of plantations, including massive palm-oil plantations.

He said the Elephants that lost their habitats entered residential areas to seek food and were getting into trouble with villagers.

“Conflicts between Elephants and residents are happening, especially in Riau, Jambi and Aceh. In those three regions, the mortality rate of Elephants is dozens every year,” he said.

FKGI chairman Krismanko Padang said police were currently detaining two illegal hunters for killing two Elephants in Tebo regency in Jambi recently. Police are also searching for the hunters’ accomplices.

Krismanko said the hunters, who were arrested in Riau, would be charged under the Conservation Law for crimes that carried a maximum punishment of five years in prison and a fine of Rp 100 million (US$7,100).

On Jan. 21 the Pangkalan Kerinci District Court in Riau sentenced four men to two-and-a-half years in prison each for hunting and killing Elephants in Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN) in Pelalawan regency. The court also fined them Rp 20 million each.

Source: Jakarta Post

Indonesia: Sumatran Elephants poisoned, electrocuted

1. An injured Sumatran elephant calf pictured after its leg became entangled at the Balairaja wildlife sanctuary in Bengkalis, in the Riau province of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, on February 18, 2016
2. Veterinary workers treat a sick elephant calf after its leg became entangled at the Balairaja wildlife sanctuary in Bengkalis, in Riau province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, on February 18, 2016

Photos: AFP / Fachrozi Amri

Indonesia: Sumatran Elephant found with leg almost severed by rope
19th February 2016;

A Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) calf lies stricken in the jungle in Indonesia as conservationists fight to remove a rope tightly wound around its leg that almost caused the critically endangered animal to lose a limb.

The youngster was spotted with another calf and their mother in a wildlife sanctuary in Bengkalis, Riau province, with their legs entangled in ropes that are believed to have come from traps set by locals, according to the Indonesian Mahout Association.

The calf lies on its side in the mud, as a rescuer holds an intravenous drip that is attached to the creature, during the operation to remove the tightly wound cord.

His leg was saved but the other two Elephants were not so lucky – the mother lost her tail and the other calf lost a leg, according to the association, which believes the Elephants were entangled for several months.

After being alerted by a group of trekkers who posted pictures on social media, local conservationists tracked down the Elephants and carefully removed the ropes from their legs and treated their wounds.

The operation took a week due to a lack of decent equipment and ended Friday, with all the ropes removed and the pachyderms left in the wild, according to mahout association chairman Nazaruddin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. A mahout is an Elephant keeper.

It is not clear whether the Elephants were the intended targets of the rope traps or if villagers were trying to catch other animals for food, Nazaruddin said.

Protection group the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the Sumatran Elephant as critically endangered, and there are believed to be less than 3,000 remaining in the wild.

Source: AFP

Photos: Detik.com [1], [2], [3]

Indonesia: Elephant electrocuted, investigation urged
By Rizal Harahap, 5th February 2016;

The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) said on Thursday the death of a Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), the carcass of which was found in the Balai Raja subdistrict, Pinggir district, Bengkalis, was caused by electrocution and is urging the government to probe into the case.

“The indication is supported by a skin injury on its trunk, which likely made contact with the electrified fence,” said the BKSDA Duri region head Haluanto Ginting.

Haluanto said the allegation was also strengthened by a damaged wire fence at a cassava farm close to where the dead Elephant was found.

Based on an initial investigation, the cassava farm purposely installed an electrified fence to protect plants from being damaged by wild Elephants.

“I cannot make sure whether the person who installed the electrified fence could be implicated. Just let investigators decide it,” said Haluanto.

A necropsy, conducted by a team of veterinarians at the BKSDA, did not find any trace of poison inside the internal organs of the Elephant, which was found dead on Wednesday.

“The necropsy was delayed at one point because of bad weather, but was eventually completed before noon. It’s almost certain the Elephant was not poisoned,” said Haluanto.

He said the Elephant carcass would be buried today, while samples of its internal organs would be sent for analysis to a veterinary lab in Bogor, West Java, or in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

“The lab results will be issued in the next two weeks, when the exact cause of the elephant’s death will be disclosed,” he added.

Separately, Duri-Riau Environmental Activists Association (Hipam) head Zulhusni Syukri urged relevant agencies to investigate the alleged use of electrified fences to protect farms from Elephants.

“Elephant deaths from electrified fences are not new. Two years ago, an Elephant was also electrocuted in Semunai village, Pinggir district, Bengkalis,” said Zulhusni.

“It’s very dangerous. Many farm owners in Bengkalis install electrified fences to protect their farms. This must be thoroughly probed, especially if it violates the law,” added Zulhusni.

Based on Riau Program Worldwide Fund for Nature (AAF) Indonesia, the Elephant’s death was the first in Bengkalis this year. Last year, two wild bull Elephants were killed, one in February because of poaching and the second in July because of poisoning.

To prevent Elephant deaths from occurring, Riau Program WWF Indonesia spokesperson Syamsidar urged the government to restore the function of the Balai Raja Wildlife Refuge. “The natural animal habitat is extremely disturbed so Elephants roam up to people’s farms in search of food,” said Syamsidar.

She also highlighted the presence of a number of companies clearing the Balai Raja conservation forest for expansion at will. “Overlapping licensing should immediately be resolved. The relevant authorities must be firm that all the oil palm trees in the conservation area must be cut. The cut areas must be further monitored to prevent other parties from claiming them,” said Syamsidar.

Apart from the Balai Raja Wildlife Refuge, she added Elephants had also lost a source of food in their habitat that had been converted into acacia and oil palm plantations.

“The Elephants’ roaming range stretches from Balai Raja to the border between Bengkalis and Rokan Hulu regencies. The Elephants traverse many concessions all the time so that their habitat is further fragmented and overlaps with human activities,” she said.

Syamsidar suggested companies whose concessions were included in the Elephant roaming range to form a response team to prevent victims of human-animal conflicts.

“The potential of conflicts is apparently high, so concession holders must be involved in Elephant protection efforts. Apart from conducting patrols to monitor Elephants entering and leaving a concession area, the response team must also be able to anticipate a human-Elephant conflict,” said Syamsidar.

Source: Jakarta Post