Aceh officials dispatched forensic teams on Monday to investigate elephant’s death in Krueng Sabee, Aceh Jaya district, Aceh province.
Villagers discovered a male elephant carcass in the Sungai Cengkeh forest areas, located in Pangong village, Aceh Jaya, on last Saturday (6/8). Idrus, a local villager, said that the 20-year-old elephant might have been dead for at least three days.
Genman S. Hasibuan, head of Aceh Conservation and Natural Resources Agency (BKSDA), said they have already coordinating with Aceh Jaya police to its remains for further autopsy. “We have coordinated with the police. Once administration process is done, they will send samples of the elephant’s heart and liver to Medan (North Sumatra),” said Hasibuan to Athehpost.co, on Monday (8/9).
Furthermore, he said that according to reports, no signs of violence were found in the body. “We will have to wait for the forensic results to be sure what caused it,” he said.
In 2012, two elephants were found dead with missing tusks which raised strong allegations for ivory smuggling syndicate operating in Aceh Jaya area. In the same year, a total of 14 elephants dead mostly killed by poison or trapped. In the following year, five carcasses were found in oil palm plantation in East Aceh.
On August, BKSDA announced that there were 460 elephants left in the province. The agency stated that the population was increasing as young elephants were sighted in several areas. Nevertheless, the world’s conservation institution, dubbed as IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), listed Sumatran elephant as critically endangered with significant declining population. Around 2,400 to 2,800 elephants used to be found in whole of Sumatra but it had declined to 3,000 to 5,000 elephants in 2007. Yuswardi A. Suud
(The article is published on Atjehpost.co, a member of Ekuatorial news syndication)[:]