Two More Elephants Found Dead in Aceh, Police Suspect Poachers

Jakarta Globe, Nurdin Hasan, Sep 08, 2014

A dead Sumatran elephant with its tusks removed was found in Aceh
Jaya district. (Antara Photo/Anwar)

Banda Aceh. Police in Aceh are on the hunt for suspected poachers after two more elephants were found dead with their tusks brutally removed.

The grisly find at a palm oil plantation in East Aceh district on Sunday, the same day an elephant was found dead in Aceh Jaya district, brings the total number of elephants found dead in the province this year to six.

The Aceh Jaya elephant was also found with its tusks removed.

Aceh Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Gustav Leo said officers were on the site where the two dead animals were found by residents, about 200 meters apart, at a plantation in Jambo Reuhat village, Banda Alam subdistrict.

Gustav said the police strongly suspected the elephants were killed for their tusks.

“Looking at the horrible condition of the elephants and the fact that their tusks are missing, this strongly suggests they were intentionally killed,” Gustav said.

Idris, a resident, said the elephants seemed to have been shot before their tusks were removed.

“There were gunshot wounds in the elephants’ necks,” Idrus said.

The elephants were found some eight kilometers from the nearest village.

Gustav said Aceh Police were committed to solving the case, adding that in April officers had to release several suspected poachers because of a lack of evidence of their involvement in the killing of an elephant in Teupin Panah village, in Aceh Besar district.

Genman Suhefti Hasibuan, head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said on Sunday that only about 450 to 500 elephants still live in Aceh.

Elephant habitats have increasingly come under threat in the province, where enormous swaths of land are being cleared for industrial use. Villagers cite elephants’ encroachment on plantation areas as an aggravating factor in often violent responses.