Google News 2 Jun 09;
JAKARTA (AFP) — Three dead elephants were suspected of being poisoned in the forest concession area of a pulp company in the Riau province of Indonesia's Sumatra island, a report said Tuesday.
One of the animal carcasses was found on June 1 and the others on May 28 in an industrial crop forest managed by PT Rimba Peranap Indah (RPI), a government official was quoted as saying by Antara state news agency.
"The company must be responsible for the safety of those elephants because the spot where they were found dead was still within their home range," Natural Resources Conservation Agency head Edy Susanto said.
The concession area used to be the elephants' natural habitat before it was converted into an oil palm plantation and acacia forest, he said.
Organ samples from the dead elephants had been sent to the veterinary test and research offices, the official added.
Two elephants found poisoned in Riau province early last month had also had their tusks removed but an official said the three dead animals found on RPI land were two females and a calf.
Sumatran elephants are the smallest Asian elephant and can live up to 70 years in captivity. They are listed as facing extinction by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
