The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Jakarta | Wed, 03/04/2009 5:37 PM
An elephant stampede and a tiger attack on Indonesia's Sumatra island killed a villager and an illegal logger Wednesday morning, officials said.
Capt. Dedi Nata said an 83-year-old man was trampled to death when 20 wild elephants went on a rampage in his village in Riau province, sending scores of residents fleeing in panic into the jungle.
In a separate attack in neighboring Jambi province, a tiger mauled an illegal logger to death and dragged away his body, said Nurhasman, a conservationist. His identity was still unknown.
At least a dozen people have been killed in Indonesia since November by tigers and elephants.
The surge in violent confrontations between man and beast is blamed on rapidly shrinking forest habitat in the vast tropical archipelago where several species of rare mammals are facing extinction.
There are only about 250 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, compared to about 1,000 in the 1970s, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Less than 3,000 Sumatran elephants are believed still living in their natural surroundings.
Rain forests are being torn down at an alarming rate to make way for commercial palm oil plantations that supply cooking oil and organic fuel. The timber is sold for construction and furniture, often destined for international export markets.
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