M Haris SA Jakarta Globe 17 Jan 17;
Jakarta. A dead elephant was found in an oil palm concession area in East Aceh on Saturday (14/01), according to Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency, or BKSDA.
"Autopsy results seem to suggest the elephant died from being shot – but we are not sure if was deliberately hunted or shot accidentally. There might be other factors," BKSDA Chief Sapto Aji Prabowo told state news agency Antara on Monday (16/01).
"The elephant was identified as a male adult aged 30, and when we found the carcass, the tusks were gone," Sapto added.
The autopsy revealed five bullet holes in the elephant's neck and back, though no traces of the bullets were found.
The alleged perpetrator of the elephant's murder is still on the run. The case is being dealt with by the police.
The dead elephant was found by BKSDA officers in the oil palm concession area Dwi Kencana Semesta on Saturday while they were on another elephant mission of a different nature.
The BKSDA officers were on a rescue mission to save a stranded baby elephant found by local villagers in Banda Alam on Friday (13/01).
The malnourished elephant calf has been sent for medical care at the Elephant Conservation Center in Saree, Aceh Besar.
Baby elephant rescued near Indonesian palm oil plantation
AFP Yahoo News 18 Jan 17;
A baby elephant found terrified and malnourished near a palm oil plantation is being nursed back to health at a conservation centre on Indonesia's Sumatra island.
Last week, animal experts in Aceh province received a tip-off about a dead elephant without its tusks.
When the team arrived they found the dead animal, along with the abandoned 11-month-old calf.
"We suspect the adult elephant was shot. He was probably with a group, so the others fled but the baby got left behind," Aceh conservation centre head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.
"The baby was malnourished, so that's why we took him to the elephant conservation centre."
The youngster weighs around 300 kilograms (660 pounds), just over half the typical weight of an animal of his age.
Rangers transported the hungry creature to the conservation center where it is being looked after by specialists.
"It was in a bad condition, depressed, limp. It was obvious from his gestures that was afraid of us. Now it's getting better," said veterinarian Rosa Rika Wahyuni.
