Rare Javan Leopard Caught After Wandering by Village

Jakarta Globe, Vento Saudale, October 17, 2013

A Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) caught on camera trap Center for
 International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Gunung Halimun-Salak National
Park, West Java, Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of CIFOR)

A rare Javan leopard has been caught alive by a conservation team in Sukabumi, West Java, after residents reported that the animal had been seen wandering around the outskirts of their village.

A team from the Indonesian Wildlife Conservation Forum (Foksi) at Taman Safari Indonesia caught the critically endangered animal last week. Residents had earlier reported seeing the leopard near Girimukti village, in Ciemas subdistrict, and the team caught the animal to prevent it from being killed.

Locals suspected the big cat had been preying on livestock.

“In the past few weeks I have been communicating with some of the residents to prevent the Javan leopard from getting killed,” Hendra, one of the team members, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday.

He said he and his team began honing in on the leopard’s whereabouts on Friday by following its footprints and droppings. The team then placed two cages in the area, baiting the cages with live goats to trap the leopard.

“Last Saturday night, the villagers heard some noise and they suspected the leopard had entered the cage to prey on the livestock,” Hendra said.

The team estimated the male leopard to be between 8 and 9 years old and to weigh about 45 to 50 kilograms. The leopard was taken away by the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) along with local officials, and was brought to Taman Safari zoo in Cisarua, Bogor.

Earlier this month, a Javan leopard was shot dead after it invaded a house in a village in the East Java district of Lumajang and attacked three officials who were attempting to capture it.

The leopard, believed to be from the forest-covered slopes of nearby Mount Semeru, ran into the house in Sumber village after being spotted and subsequently chased down by local residents who were attempting to drive it away, according to Taman Safari Indonesia director Tony Sumampauw.

The big cat invaded a house belonging to Mulyadi, who immediately fled along with his family. The villagers asked for help from the local authorities, and a team from Taman Safari II in Prigen, East Java, was sent to capture the animal.

When the team arrived, they found a crowd surrounding Mulyadi’s house and immediately launched efforts to check on the animal.

As they opened the door to take a look at the leopard, it attacked two officials from Taman Safari and a police officer. Another police officer then immediately shot the animal.

The three officials attacked by the leopard sustained minor injuries and were treated at a hospital.

The Javan leopard ( Panthera pardus melas ) is a leopard subspecies that exists in the wild only on Java.

It has been classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature since 2008, with the population estimated to be less than 250 mature individuals. It is protected under Indonesian law.

Aceh farmers facing big problems with elephants

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/07/2011

Herds of elephants have reportedly damaged crops in several areas across Aceh Jaya regency, with the latest incident in the village of Cot Dulang, Jaya District, and oil palm plantations of Blang Mon Lueng village in Sampoiniet district.

Aceh Jaya Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Agency chief T Rusdi said that aside from damaging oil palm plantations, the herds had also destroyed one hectare of rice ready for harvest.

"This is distressing local residents since they do not know how to handle the herd comprising around four elephants, which are a protected species," he said.

Blang Mon Lueng village chief Helmiadi and Sapeukheun Farmer's Association chief Tgk Jamaluddin said the local farmers had become afraid to watch over their crops.

"Previously we were concerned about boars attacking our crops, but now the elephants have turned out to be a much bigger and more terrifying threat," Jamaluddin said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

"The government should not only protect the animals, but also think about our livelihoods that are currently under threat from this protected species.", Helmiadi said.

First Lady Yudhoyono dedicates prosperous village

Antara News, Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA News) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono dedicated prosperous village at Tangerang district in Banten province on Wednesday morning.

The prosperous village is developed by the United Indonesia Cabinet ministers` Wives Solidarity (SIKIB) at Tanjung Pasir sub-district in Tangerang, Banten province.

Ani Yudhoyono in the company of Vice President Boediono`s wife Herawati Boediono arrived at the venue at 8.25 on Wednesday morning to dedicate the prosperous village.

The first lady is scheduled to sign an inscription to mark the dedication of the prosperous village, developed by the SIKIB.

In addition, Madame Ani Yudhoyono will also launch Nusantara White-water Devotion by planting trees and spreading young fishes.

As part of the dedication, the first lady will also hold a dialog with the local elementary school students and to inspect health civic mission activity.

The dedication of the prosperous village is the peak event of the "Women Plant and Cultivate Trees Campaign 2010" which was launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the Manggala Wanabakti auditorium in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 23, 2010.

The Women Plant Trees Campaign is a yearly activity which was started four years ago with different themes and formats of activity each year.

In 2010, the program was focused on the activity of planting trees such as Ketapang and mangroves in coastal areas. It is expected that the program will improve the people`s economy and boost their awareness to preserve forests in coastal area.

The Tuesday inauguration also featured an exhibition and conference themed "Protection of Coastal Forests and Improvement of the People`s Prosperity."

Earlier, the People`s Coalition for Fishery Justice has appealed to the government on the need to preserve and improve mangrove forests.

The mangrove preservation is necessary to prevent them from disappearance from the face of the earth because the forests provide ground for fishes, shrimp, and mollusks for spawning and growing.

Hundreds of monkeys go berserk attacking plantation workers

Antara News, Thursday, October 14, 2010 22:29 WIB

Siau, Riau (ANTARA News) - Hundreds of monkeys went berserk in the plantations and residential areas of Teluk Mesjid Village, Sungai Apit Sub-district, Siak ,and injured a rubber tapper, who had 60 stitches on him injured arm.

The workers and residents were troubled by the rampaging monkeys and had to stop working on that day.

There were 40 to 60 monkeys which went berserk.

The wild animals also destroyed vegetables and fruit in the plantations, one of the residents, Ridwan said.

The monkeys had even invaded the village and took away chicken eggs, he said.

"This is not the first time that the monkeys went berserk," he said, adding that they also bit a resident in a recent such attack.

The rubber tapper, Juju, had been attacked by around ten monkeys.

Govt to develop tourism in 200 villages

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 07/03/2010 6:17 PM

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has selected 200 villages across the country as recipients of community empowerment fund (PNPM) in a bid to develop tourism there.

Director of Community Empowerment at the ministry, Bakri, said on Saturday each village in Java would receive between Rp 65 million (US$7,140) and Rp 70 million, while those outside Java would earn between Rp 85 million and Rp 90 million each.

The ministry expected the fund to help people in the villages develop tourism industry as a source of income.

Borobudur village near the world’s largest Buddhist temple in the Central Java regency of Magelang is a success story of the program, he said.

“People in the village were scavengers who lived under the poverty line. But now after their village has turned into a tourist area, many tourists visit there, creating many jobs related to tourism,” Bakri told Antara news agency.

The ministry only initiated the program last year, with 104 villages receiving the empowerment fund. The fund will be channeled to 450 villages next year, according to Bakri.

Environment Watch: Villagers want legal protection for forest

The Jakarta Post, Jon Afrizal, Jambi | Fri, 05/07/2010 10:14 AM

People from Marga Bukit Bulan in Jambi are seeking legal guarantees in the form of a regional law to protect their forest as the source of their livelihood.

The Marga Bukit Bulan community is made up of residents in five villages in Limun district, Sarolangun regency: Lubuk Bedorong, Mersip, Napal Melintang, Berkun and Meribung.

The valley area is dominated by hills and intact tracts of forest that serve as water catchment areas.

Because the forest is indispensable for residents, it is classified a traditional forest. There are 12 tracts of traditional forest encompassing the five villages with a total area of 1,488 hectares.

Villagers use water from the forest for daily household needs and to irrigate rice fields.

The District Development Program (PPK) set up a micro-hydro power station a few years to generate electricity for Napal Melintang villagers using the water from upstream forest areas, which is dammed and redirected to micro-hydro generator turbines to produce 30,000 watts of power.

The power is distributed to residents’ homes, where 110 of the 135 families now have electricity.

Each family is charged Rp 5,000 (about 50 US cents) per month for every 10-watt lamp. The money generated is used for public works, such as repairing the mosque.

Village head Yanto praised the electricity generation project, saying it “freed the villagers from darkness”.

“We are optimizing the use of water in our daily lives,” he said.

Villagers also use the rivers to breed fish.

The larvae are kept in a deep pool in a stream at Lubuk Bedorong village. Sarolangun regency administration says 10,000 larvae could yield hundreds of kilograms of fish twice a year.

With the Marga Bukit Bulan community becoming increasingly dependent on the forest, community development specialist Dendi Satria Buana sees the need for legal guarantee to protect the forest.

The status of the traditional forest has only been recognized through a village decree, which Dendi claims is not enough.

“We must push for the establishment of a legal framework to protect the traditional forest,” he said, adding the forest served a hydrological function by providing clean water that could be used by the community. With clear legal protection, the water source will be preserved and the forest will remain intact and pristine, he said.

Sarolangun Regent Hasan Basri Agus said his concern for the villagers’ welfare led him to push for a regency bylaw pending the issuance of a provincial ordinance on traditional forests.

Water from the upstream areas is dammed and redirected to micro-hydro generator turbines to produce 30,000 watts of power.

Villagers to Kill Disturbing Sumatran Elephants

Kompas, Minggu, 25 April 2010 | 03:23 WIB

In this Thursday, May 7, 2009 file photo, conservationists and officials inspect the carcass of an elephant suspectedly poisoned to death by poachers near Pekanbaru, Riau province, Sumatra island, Indonesia. Two endangered elephants found dead on Indonesias Sumatra island are believed to be the victims of poachers targeting the animals for their prized ivory tusks, a park official said Monday, March 29, 2010.

TAPAKTUAN, KOMPAS.com - Dozens of residents from several villages in East Trumon sub-district, South Aceh district, threatened to kill Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) that destroyed local plantation areas. The wild elephant herd has destroyed dozens of hectares of palm oil trees, bananas, betel nuts, coconuts and local plantations since January, said an East Trumon resident, Syarifuddin, here Saturday.

"We have reported the rampage to the sub-district office and the Natural Resources Conservation Body (BKSDA) but received no response that it will be addressed. So it would not be our responsibility if we later intoxicated or speared the animal," he said.

There have been a lot of material damages the animal has caused suffering the residents and they have no idea where else to complain, he said. Jambo Dalem village chief, Tengku Baili, earlier said that the man-elephant conflicts have resulted in dozens of people coming to his house threatening to hunt down and kill these animals.

The chief said that the elephant-human conflict in the East Trumon sub-district has lasted for about seven years and caused a casualty, after someone was trampled by the elephant in early 2006. East Trumon sub-district chief, H Lahmuddin, said that the conflict has a negative impact on the villagers’ economy, because the crops they harvest are not good.

"I estimate the material losses caused by disturbance of elephants during the last seven years have reached hundreds of million rupiahs. We expect the government to build an elephant prevention post in order to minimize the loss," said Lahmuddin.

Besides Jambo Dalem village, a herd of elephants has also entered the residential population in Naca, Pinto Rimba and Kapa Sesak village.

"Many attempts have been made to drive away the big animals, but have not shown the expected results," he said,

He is hoping for some relevant parties to immediately overcome the problem by driving the herd back to their habitats.

"If it is not done immediately, I am afraid people will take the law into their own hands," he said.

Source: AP

Elephant`s carcass found in Bengkalis

Antara News, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 17:11 WIB

Bengkalis, Riau (ANTARA News) - A Sumatran elephant (elephant maximus sumateraonsis) was found dead in Mandau sub district, Bengkalis District, Riau Province.

Poiman (60), a local villager, said the elephant`s corpse was found after somebody smelled something bad near the main road when entering a forest area managed by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI), Wednesday at 5 am local time.

"We don`t know what had caused the elephant`s death. People just found a rotting corpse and covered it with leafs and branches. We did not want to approach it because it was very smelly and we worried that other elephants might come," Parmin said.

Another villager, Ardi (34), said that the dead elephant had lost its two tusks.

The local inhabitants suspected that the elephant had been killed by unknown people.

"Yesterday, we heard three gun shots," he said.

Brilian, another resident, said four elephants had been spotted in local people`s rubber plantations over the past week, preventing the people from tapping the gum.

"We have tried to drive them away by setting cannon and fireworks, but they are still roaming around our rubber plantations," he said.

Petanni Village Head Riyanto said it would be very difficult to check the cause of the elephant`s death because its corpse had already rotten and was full of worms and flies.

Riyanto had reported the dead elephant find to the local police and Bengkalis nature resource conservation office (BKSDA).

He also asked the local authorities to be responsive to local people`s complaints on the wild elephants entering rubber plantations.

Head of the Bengkalis BKSDA Hutomo said he would investigated the death of the elephant as it was a protected animal.

The Sumatran elephant is the smallest of the Asian elephants. They can live to be 60-70 years old and grow to body height of up to 1.70-2.6 m. at the shoulder.

They usually weigh between 6,615 and 11,020 pounds! Due to deforestation and destruction of habitat, the Sumatran elephants have become endangered.

Wild elephants occupy part of village for two weeks

Antara News, Friday, March 19, 2010 01:04 WIB

Bengkalis (ANTARA News) - A herd of hungry wild elephants have been occupying two residential areas of Petani village, Bengkalis, Riau, over the past two weeks forcing tens of families to flee their homes.

Petani village residents said the elephants were still in their part of the village on Thursday but their number had dropped from initially 45 to a few.

"For the past two weeks we have been staying in the homes of people in another part of our village located far from where the elephants are," one of the displaced inhabitants of Petani village , Raya (45), said.

He said he and his fellow villagers had made no effort to drive the animals away because they were afraid it would make the giant mammals only more aggressive and attack them.

Petani village head Riantono admitted he could not do much for his people but had appealed to them to be alert to the danger the wild beasts posed, especially at night.

He said he had also asked his people to watch out in the afternoon because the animals could come at any time and tear apart their houses to find food.

"As village head I do not know what I have to do. I can only make appeals. We cannot kill them because, if we do, we will get into trouble with the law," he said.

Local environment activists meanwhile said no concrete actions had been taken so far by the authorities to prevent conflicts between humans and elephants in Bengkalis.

"The problem has so far been only talked about while no concrete actions have been taken by the government or agencies concerned," Simamora, the chief of the Care for Nature and Environment Community Movement, said.

He said, if the problem remained unsolved, it was not impossible the local people would fight the elephants in their own way , and then fatalities could happen on either side. Many people had already been killed in clashes with the animals.

Hard Labor in a Ghostly World: East Java's Sulfur Mines

Jakarta Globe, Tim Hannigan, February 02, 2010

Sulfur miners carrying their 60 to 100-kilogram loads up the steep inner slopes of the crater. (JG Photo/Tim Hannigan)

The rising road is a mess of pebbles and potholes and the engine of my motorbike strains as I wind my way between the ruts. It’s been an hour since I left the neat, sleepy little town of Bondowoso, in East Java, riding first between luminescent rice terraces and red-roofed villages, and then uphill into the forest. A few more lumps and bumps, a few more steep switchbacks before the road suddenly levels and a view of a lost world opens below. Surrounded by dark ridges is a swath of rolling forest under a veil of yellow haze. Welcome to the Ijen Plateau.

The chain of volcanoes that runs the length of Java ends in style at the mighty Ijen-Raung Massif. Rocketing from the rice terraces this colossal complex of peaks — flanked by the 3,332-meter Gunung Raung to the west and the 2,800-meter Gunung Merapi to the east — can be seen from Bali on a clear day.

Rolling down through the trees I reach sleepy Sempol, the main village of the Ijen region, home to the men and women who work on the surrounding coffee plantations. On the outskirts of the village is the Arabica Homestay, a guesthouse owned by one of the coffee companies, and the overnight base for my journey to Ijen. More than 2,000 meters above sea level the air here is fresh and invigorating, and a cup of sweet local coffee is all I need to recover from the bumpy ride from Bondowoso before I head out to explore.

Beyond Sempol the road rises through tiers of glossy-leaved coffee trees. When I reach Pos Paltuding, the trailhead for the hike to the Ijen crater itself, the sky has darkened. It’s hardly ideal weather for an afternoon stroll, but I set out along the trail anyway. Within minutes a thick downpour begins and I duck beneath the dripping roof of a concrete shelter beside the path.

Despite the inclement weather the trail is busy — not with hikers, but with workers, surely some of the toughest men in Java. The Ijen crater is an active volcano, and it produces a continuous supply of high-grade sulfur, an important ingredient in sugar production and pharmaceuticals. The mining operation here continues as it has for generations — completely void of any mechanical aid. Some 400 men head up the steep slopes each day to collect sulfur from the crater before carrying the back-breaking load in wicker baskets along the five-kilometer trail to a weighing station in Pos Paltuding.

As I sit shivering in the rain, I watch a steady stream of workers trotting downhill, balancing loaded baskets on creaking bamboo poles across their shoulders.

One of the men takes a break to join me. His name is Aripin. He’s 41 years old. While the workers on the surrounding coffee plantations are ethnic Madurese, Aripin says that those who work on the mountain are mostly Osing Javanese from the Banyuwangi region. Aripin himself comes from the village of Licin, on the volcano’s eastern slope. He carried his first load of sulfur from Ijen at the age of 12.

Aripin explains that he is paid for the sulfur by weight — Rp 600 (6 cents) per kilogram. Most men carry two loads of between 60 and 100 kilograms every day. I try to do the math on my fingers. Aripin helps me out: “Most days I make about Rp 80,000.”

This puts his income above that of many college-graduate office workers in the cities, but when I point this out Aripin laughs. “Are any of those office kids strong enough to do this job? I don’t think so! The money is good enough, but you need both mental and physical strength. How much you make is up to you. You can’t do well unless you can motivate yourself.”

Aripin works 15 days a month, sleeping with the other workers in a hut on the mountainside half the month before heading back to his wife and two young sons in Licin, to enjoy 15 days with the family. “I can make enough money to live on in 15 days.”

The rain falls in sheets, and early twilight blankets the mountainside. “Come back in the morning,” Aripin says. “The view is better.” It is sound advice and I follow him back down the muddy trail.

The mountains are dark facades in the dawn under an empty sky. I hurry uphill, falling in with the gangs of sulfur carriers. The trail winds through the pines and a view opens to the east over thickly forested slopes. I pass Aripin heading rapidly downhill. He was awake at 4 a.m. and he’s already lugged his first load up from the crater.

I reach the rim as a morning haze begins to creep up from the forest. The slopes here are bare of vegetation, and far below I can see the cobalt-blue lake that fills the belly of the Ijen crater. Rising from its shores is a plume of thick white smoke.

The trail down to the crater winds steeply over a landscape of what looks like builders’ rubble. Long trains of men sweat their way uphill under heavy loads.

A man named Saudiq pauses to catch his breath and chat. He is carrying 70 kilograms, the first of his two daily loads. The strongest workers of all, he says, can carry as much as 125 kilograms. Like Aripin, Saudiq has no complaints about his income. “It’s enough to live on,” he says with a wry smile, “but this is hard work … .”

Just how hard is obvious down at the sulfur vents: With nothing but old handkerchiefs for protection from the hellish fumes, men hack at the fresh, candy-colored deposits, loading their baskets.

“I usually make about Rp 2 million a month,” says one man, pausing from his work. “One million for food, and one million for fun,” he adds with a suggestive leer.

It’s not a job I could ever do — walking back up the steep trail to the crater rim carrying nothing more than a camera is enough for me.

The rain has returned when I reach the trailhead, and I drive east up a steep, deteriorating track of a road. The dripping forest is full of furious insect noise and I recall the tale a park ranger back at Pos Paltuding told me: Traveling along this same road by motorbike one morning, he saw a black panther emerge from the undergrowth. It watched him for a long, fearless moment before vanishing into the trees.

I’m too busy concentrating on the dreadful road to look out for big cats. Rivers of rainwater gush along the ruts and my bike bounces over fist-sized rocks. Finally the road levels, and as it does the rain suddenly stops. I’m in the village of Licin, close to Banyuwangi. Ahead of me the dark hills of Bali rise above a slate-gray channel, and behind, fading into blue cloud, is the eastern wall of the lost world of Ijen.

Churches step in to protect indigenous people’s rights

Arghea D. Hapsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/30/2010 9:43 PM | National

Mimika councilor Athanasius Allo Rafra shakes hands with a representative from two tribes during an attempted peace deal at Mambruk complex, Mimika, Papua on Monday. (JP/Markus Makur)

A forum of Catholic churches has stepped in to fill the gap left by the government’s tardy responses in protecting the rights of indigenous people, especially in Papua and Kalimantan, where exploitation of natural resources is rampant.

A public seminar was held on Friday to mark the start of the forum’s 6-month journey to advocate in the recovery of the people’s rights. Other activities will include focus group discussions involving mass organizations, churches and indigenous people in the two natural resource-rich territories. A national advocacy is slated for June.

The forum’s chairman, Mgr. Agustinus Agus, said Saturday the national advocacy program was aimed at enhancing public’s understanding of the indigenous people’s real conditions.

“We also want to invite concrete national and international supports to join the fight for justice and peace and restore the people’s rights,” he added.

The Social Services Ministry has registered 229,479 families of indigenous people living in 2,650 locations in 30 provinces across the country.

Some Dayak people acquire traditional hand-tapped tattoos to express their tribal and cultural identity. (Photo courtesy of Aman Durga Sipatiti)

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Jambi's Orang Rimba: Indonesia Forest Dwellers Fighting to Survive the Crush of Modernity

Jambi' Orang Rimba family, Sumatra.
(Photo: Tiger Patrol unit / WWF Indonesia)

On Flying Squad Patrol With Elephants in Indonesia's Sumatra

The Jakarta Globe, John M. Glionna

A handler washes an elephant, whose calf is beside them, at Tesso Nilo National Park. At least once a month, wild herds from the park attack one of the nearby settlements. (Photo: Luis Sinco, LA Times)

The wild bull elephant stood menacingly in the clearing, trumpeting in annoyance and anger, its brain racing with a chemical that unleashes a throbbing headache.

It was mating season, and the bull was desperate for a partner.

Was this a good moment to be sitting atop another elephant just a few hundred feet away?

Syamsuardi, a native of the Sumatran forest, had his strategy: He would pit his own elephant against the amorous intruder.

The compact 37-year-old manages the Flying Squad, a herd of tame elephants that patrols the more-than-80,000-hectare Tesso Nilo National Park.

In many nations, dwindling forests have brought deadly conflicts between man and animal. In Sumatra, rampaging elephants have been shot or poisoned by officials or vengeful property owners.

Syamsuardi’s team is the brainchild of the World Wildlife Fund, which borrowed the idea from India. The goal: persuade the errant elephants to return to their sanctuary, where lethal run-ins with humans are less likely.

For the Flying Squad, brute force isn’t the only option.

The team sometimes dispatches a female to mate with a male aggressor, a tactic that has defused tension and produced two offspring: Tesso and Nella.

Confronting the latest angry bull, Syamsuardi sensed this showdown wouldn’t end easily.

Perched atop Rachman, the Flying Squad leader, he and the other mahouts, or handlers, positioned two males and two females side by side.

They moved slowly forward, with each handler atop an elephant, awaiting the wild bull’s charge.

Syamsuardi recalled the terror of knowing he’d be exposed to piercing tusks and collisions of gigantic bodies. Caught in the middle, he might be crushed like an insect. “It’s tense, but you must be calm and stay quiet,” he said. “I have to be ready to think quickly, because when the time comes, my elephants are waiting for my command.”

Disappearing Habitat

The forests that once covered Sumatra’s Riau province — home to the largest elephant population in Indonesia — are disappearing.

In the past 20 years, the paper and palm oil industries have cut down 60 percent of the pachyderm habitat. Just 10 percent of the remaining forest land is suitable for elephants. Since 1985, the province’s elephant population has plummeted to 350 from 1,600. About 80 elephants live within Tesso Nilo National Park.

At least once a month, wild herds from the park attack one of the nearby settlements, activists say. Since 2007, 13 elephants and several residents have been killed in Riau.

“If given a choice, elephants would prefer never to see humans,” Syamsuardi said. “But the problem is that humans continue to invade their territory. There’s not enough jungle left.”

In 2004, after a rash of rampages, Syamsuardi began his monumental task: shape a team of animals into an obedient police force.

A World Wildlife Fund outreach worker at the time, he knew little about elephants. So he began reading up on the animals and working with them in the field.

Now he and his staff of eight handlers foster a bond with their elephant wards. For mahouts such as Adrianto, 26, it means a soothing voice interspersed with strict commands.

One day, Adrianto took 26-year-old Ria and her 2-year-old calf, Tesso, for a bath in a watering hole. Ria trudged though the jungle, grabbing leaves with her trunk, her feet leaving large craters in the soft dirt.

At the murky pond, she waded into the water like a four-legged sumo wrestler, with Adrianto on her back. As the animals luxuriated in the cool water, their trunks shooting quick bursts of water, Adrianto scrubbed their backs, talking softly in Indonesian.

“Don’t be naughty,” he told Tesso, who nudged him with a forehead sprouting unruly black hairs. Then he pushed the baby’s head underwater and scrubbed behind the ears.

“Ria is an actress,” he said later, perched comfortably on her neck as if riding a big, movable easy chair. “She pouts unless she gets what she wants.”

The mahouts treat obedient animals to brownies. But there are sticks that come with such carrots. When Ria resists, Adrianto whacks her on the head with a small metal-tipped stick for discipline. Tesso gets a stick shoved in his ear when he gets too frisky.

Before a routine patrol, Syamsuardi showered affection on Ria, rubbing her cheek and neck. He has grown to love the animals, and he fears for their future.

“They’re incredibly loyal,” he said. “When a mahout falls during a fight with a wild bull, the herd will surround him in protection.”

They are also immensely powerful. An elephant can topple a pickup truck with one nudge of its forehead. In villages, the animals are referred to as datu , or mister, a term of respect given no other jungle creature.

Syamsuardi has seen the results of the animals’ fury. Every few weeks, they rampage through settlements looking for food or venting anger or frustration.

“The male pierces victims with its tusks and then throws them with its trunk. If they are still moving, he’ll stomp them,” he said. “Females mostly kick. Either way, it’s a tragic way to die.”

Syamsuardi uses elephant face-offs as a last resort. His methods have worked: So far, none of the mahouts has been hurt.

The team first tries to scare away aggressive herds by setting off carbide cannons. At night, rangers use car lights and blasts of the car horn.

If the mating option is used, the team finds a secure spot for the ritual, which can last a week.

If the team decides it’s better to make war, not love, fights between the Flying Squad and aggressors can last hours.

Back to the Forest

As the bull stomped in warning, the Flying Squad approached. The lineup, designed to confuse the invader so it can’t tell which elephant is pack leader, came within a few feet.

Finally, the bull lunged at Rachman. Tusks flashing, the two animals collided. Syamsuardi hung on as the other elephants closed in around the intruder, like a gang tackle on the football field.

The fight lasted a tense and sweaty 35 minutes, during which the big animals swung their heads, wielding their tusks like swords, their bodies like battering rams. Finally, the bull moved off into the brush.

For now, Syamsuardi knew, the big animal was safe.

“I was so satisfied. We didn’t have to kill that bull,” he said.

“We just gave him a message: Go back to the forest with your own kind. You’ll live longer that way.”

Los Angeles Times

Whirlwind damages houses in Sukoharjo

Antara News, Saturday, December 5, 2009 16:23 WIB

Sukoharjo (ANTARA News) - A whirlwind destroyed three houses and damaged tens of others in Sukoharjo, Central Java, on Friday evening.

The whirlwind also caused power blackout and telecommunication line cut off, Citro Wiyono, a resident of Sapen village, Mojolaban sub district, Sukoharjo District, said here on Saturday.

Sapen village was the worst hit and suffered material losses worth tens of millions of rupiah, he said.

The strong wind and heavy rains also damaged warehouses and a school building in the village.

Govt likely to accept tribal communal rights

Adianto P. Simamora , The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 12/03/2009 8:56 PM

The government is likely to recognize communal rights and the crucial role of tribal people in environmental management and protection, says State Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta.

Speaking at a workshop on communal rights jointly organized by the State Environment Ministry and the Alliance of Archipelagic Indigenous People (AMAN) here on Thursday, Hatta said that recognizing communal rights was crucial to understanding the communal rights of tribal communities and ending frequent conflict between tribes and mining and forestry companies nationwide.

So far, the Forestry Ministry and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry have ignored communal rights by issuing mining permits and forest concessions.

Gusti stressed the government could not turn a blind eye to the existence of tribes, as well as their role and local wisdom regarding environmental management and protection.

Bali villages cited as forest stewardship beacons

Desy Nurhayati , The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali | Tue, 12/01/2009 10:55 PM

Indonesian delegates at a forest management meeting that began Tuesday are promoting Tenganan and Sibetan villages in Bali as prime examples of community-based forest management.

In the four-day meeting attended by delegates from 10 countries grouped under the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG), residents of the two villages in Karangasem regency related their success in conserving their forests by adhering to traditional environmental stewardship.

“For many years now, from one generation to the next, the people of Tenganan and Sibetan have always complied with traditional laws in preserving the forests and the entire environment,” Karangasem Regent Wayan Gredeg said in his presentation.

“The local wisdom of the indigenous people and collaboration between desa adat [traditional villages], NGOs and the local administration is the key to sustainable forest management in the area.”

He cited a traditional law prohibiting villagers from picking ripe fruits before they fall off the tree, as well as taking wood from forests without the consent of village elders.

“Only married couples who need wood to build their homes are allowed to get it from the forest, but they need approval from the village council,” Gredeg said.

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Green-minded mayor given Javanese name

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 12/01/2009 9:22 PM

Pangkalpinang Mayor Zulkarnain Karim from the Sumatran province of Bangka Belitung has been given the Javanese nickname Wagiman not because of any link to the island but because of his green thumb.

Head of the city's environment agency, Bani Baehaki, says Wagiman is a Javanese acronym for a “tree-planting mayor”.

“We call him Wagiman to highlight his leading role in the city’s reforestation program,” Bani told Antara on Tuesday.

The agency will plant 60,000 seedlings of various tropical fruit trees, including rambutan, durian and cajuput, in the city’s 137 hectares of forest as part of a massive tree-planting program.

The agency has also planted 1,000 mangrove seedlings along Tanjung Bunga beach to rehabilitate the coastal area, which had been degraded due to tin mining exploration and massive coral reef poaching.

Bani called on the city's residents to stand behind Wagiman by protecting the forests and fore shores and by not littering.

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Floods inundate 30,000 ha of rice fields in Lebak

Antara News, Sunday, November 29, 2009 22:31 WIB

Lebak, Banten (ANTARA News) - A total of 30,000 hectares of rice fields in Lebak district, Banten province are inundated by flood water as a result of three days of rain on Tuesday trough Thursday this week.

"The floods damaged paddy fields and caused an estimated loss of hundreds of millions to the local people," natural disaster mitigation task force chief for Lebak, Kaprawi, said over the weekend.

The floods that hit Lebak regency affected 10 subdistricts, namely Manasalam, Malingping, Banjarsari, Cijaku, Celeles, Leuwidamar, Cimarga, Rangkasbitung, Cibada and Kalanganyar.