The Jakarta Post 16 Dec 09;
Herds of Sumatran elephants have been closing in on villages in Riau following flooding in their natural habitat.
“Many of them enter residential areas and destroy palm and rice fields,” Syahimin, a top official at the local Natural Resources Conservation Center, told Antara state news agency in Pekanbaru on Wednesday.
The center has recorded elephant disturbances in Tapung district in Kampar regency, Sungai Mandau district in Siak regency and in Pinggir district in Bengkalis regency.
Syahimin said that it was natural for elephants to avoid wetlands.
He said that there were around 50 elephants approaching the villages. The center has deployed officers to help local residents drive the elephants away
Floods driving elephants to residential areas
Antara 16 Dec 09;
Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - A herd of elephants have entered a number of villages since recently because their habitat has been hit by floods, a nature conservationist said.
"Since the emergence of floods in the region many elephants have entered villages, destroying villagers oil palm plantations and rice fields," head of Raiu`s Nature Preservation and Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Syahimin said here on Wednesday.
The herd of elephants have made residents restless in three villages, among others, in Tapung subdistrict, Kampar districts, he said.
Syhimin said that the elephant had roamed to the villages because their habitat was being flooded. Elephants did not like their cruising areas to be inundated by water.
He said the herd of elephants which attacked the Sungai Mandau and Pinggir villages, was the bigg
