Google – AFP, 24 February 2014
File photo
taken on July 14, 2013 shows a resident looking at the carcass of
a male
Sumatran elephant in Aceh Jaya district on Indonesia's Sumatra island
(AFP/File, Fikri Ramadhavi)
|
Jakarta —
Seven Sumatran elephants have been found dead in western Indonesia and it is
thought they were poisoned, a wildlife official said Monday, just the latest
deaths of the critically-endangered animals.
Dozens of
the elephants have died after being poisoned in recent years on Sumatra island,
as the creatures come into conflict with humans due to the rapid expansion of
palm oil plantations which destroys their habitat.
The latest
to die were a female adult, five male teenagers, and a male calf believed to be
from the same herd, said local wildlife agency spokesman Muhammad Zanir.
The remains
of the elephants were found on February 16 just outside Tesso Nilo National
Park and it is thought they died five months earlier, he said.
"There
is an indication that they were poisoned," he said. "Some people may
consider the elephants a threat to their palm oil plantations and poison
them."
While
Sumatran elephants are regularly found dead, it is rare to discover so many at
the same time.
Swathes of
rainforest have been destroyed in recent years to make way for plantations and
villagers increasingly target Sumatran elephants, which they regard as pests.
While most
concessions for palm oil companies are granted outside Tesso Nilo, in Riau
province in eastern Sumatra, many villagers still illegally set up plantations
inside the park, said WWF spokeswoman Syamsidar, who goes by one name.
Poachers
also sometimes target the animals -- the smallest of the Asian elephants -- for
their ivory tusks, which are in high demand for use in traditional Chinese
medicine.
The WWF
says there are only between 2,400 and 2,800 Sumatran elephants remaining in the
wild and warns they face extinction in less than 30 years unless the
destruction of their habitat is halted.
Rampant
expansion of plantations and the mining industry has destroyed nearly 70
percent of the elephant's forest habitat over 25 years, according to the WWF.
Protection
group the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the
elephants as "critically endangered", one step below "extinct in
the wild".
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