The Jakarta Post 28 Oct 09;
A herd of wild elephants entered a village in Geumpang subdistrict, Aceh province recently, damaging three houses and ruining food crops, a local leader said Wednesday.
"For the past week, a herd of about 17 elephants have been rampaging through our village. They have destroyed three houses and they have eaten the rice plants in our fields," a local community chief, M Sabi, told Antara state news agency on Wednesday.
The three damaged houses belonged to Abdullah Saman, Yusri Yusuf and Ibnu Abbas. All three residents, along with their families, have moved to a safer place.
Sabi said, in fact, two villages in Geumpang subdistrict – Gampong Pulo and Bangkeh – had been terrorized by wild elephants for the past two months. They had destroyed the villagers' crops and chased anyone who came in sight.
So far, the authorities, such as the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), have taken no action to help the villagers overcome the problem.
"Local residents are now forced to try to drive the elephants away by their own means, like with bamboo cannons. Every night we strike the cannon to create sounds that scare the elephants away," Sabi said.
Material losses from the elephants' rampages have yet to be assessed. However, Muhammad Gapi, a local resident, said people in his area had to buy the carbide, a basic material used to fire up the bamboo cannons, with their own money.
"We have to spend Rp 100,000 [US$10] each night just to buy carbide for the cannons," Gapi said.
Last September, there was an elephant attack in Pauh Ranap village, Riau province, which killed one villager and injured another.
