Indonesia: Male Elephant Found Dead, Tusks Removed, in Aceh Jaya

Nurdin Hasan Jakarta Globe 7 Sep 14;

Banda Aceh. A male Sumatran elephant has been found dead with its tusks removed in an inland area in Aceh Jaya district, making it the fourth such death in the province this year, an official said on Sunday.

Genman Suhefti Hasibuan, head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, or BKSDA, said the elephant was found by a passing villager on the banks of the Cengeh River in Panggong village, Krueng Sabee subdistrict.

“Its tusks had already been removed by the time it was found; we strongly suspect the elephant was killed,” he told the Jakarta Globe. “We are still waiting for forensic results to determine the cause of death.”

The elephant was found about 10 kilometers from villagers’ houses. Already rotting, it is thought to have died a week ago.

The BKSDA team visited the site immediately after hearing receiving a report of the dead elephant. It has conducted an autopsy and sent tissue samples for testing to a forensics laboratory in Medan, North Sumatra, to determine the cause of death.

Genman said it was the fourth dead elephant found in Aceh this year alone.

In August, a 6-month-old elephant calf was discovered dead on a river bank in Serbajadi, in East Aceh district. The cause of death in that case remains unknown.

Another elephant was also found dead in Southeast Aceh district.

In April, Aceh police arrested 12 people suspected to be among the poachers responsible for killing an elephant for its tusks in Teupin Panah, West Aceh district. Three were released for lack of evidence; the remaining nine suspected poachers currently await trial.

Between 450 and 500 elephants live in Aceh, according to Genman.

Elephants habitats have increasingly come under threat in Aceh, as enormous swaths of land are cleared for industrial use. Villagers cite elephants’ encroachment on plantation areas as an aggravating factor in often violent responses.

Six elephants died last year in Aceh, most at the hands of humans — whose avowed territorial frustration with the elephants would seem belied by the dead animals’ missing tusks.