Jakarta Globe, November 29, 2012
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An
endangered Sumatran elephant was found dead at a recreation park in the Central
Java district of Banjarnegara on Wednesday, with park officials speculating
that the pachyderm was electrocuted.
The
14-year-old Dona died after she presumably bit a high-voltage wire in her cage
at Serulingmas Wildlife Recreation Park.
“When
found, the elephant lay on the floor with her mouth charred. An electrical wire
was in her mouth,” the Banjarnegara Culture and Tourism Agency chief, Aziz
Ahmad, told antaranews.com on Wednesday.
He added
that several of the park's enclosures, including Dona’s, were undergoing
repairs, leaving some wires that supplied power to welding equipment dangling
in the cages.
Dona is
thought to have reached one of those wires before biting it, inducing a fatal
electric shock.
Elephant
tamer Suroyo, 26, who was the first to come across Dona’s dead body, said he
was shocked by the incident, having taken care of Dona for the past four years.
“Dona was a
very obedient, always cheerful elephant. Every time we met, Dona always asked
to play. I still can’t believe Dona’s gone now,” Suroyo said.
Dona’s
remains were buried in the park on Wednesday afternoon following an autopsy by
police.
Aziz said
that with Dona’s death, there remained just one elephant in the park.
Estimates
put the number of Sumatran elephants left in the wild at fewer than 3,000, and
the species is considered “critically endangered” by the International Union
for Conservation of Nature. Conservationists say the remaining population is
severely threatened due to habitat loss from illegal logging and palm oil
plantations’ expansion.
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