Two More Sumatran Elephants Found Dead in Riau

Pekanbaru, Riau (Antara) - Two Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) were found dead, allegedly poisoned, in Tesso Nilo National Park, Pelalawan District, Riau province, on Wednesday, a spokesman said on Sunday. "The two elephants found dead were cub and its mother. They likely belonged to the same herd," the head of the park, Kupi Simbolon said here Sunday. The elephant carcasses were found last Friday when personnel of the park and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) monitored the movement of wild elephants in the park, he said. "This is very worrying that too many elephants have died and I promise not to let this continue," he said. Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the WWF Program for Riau, Syamsidar said the elephants were allegedly poisoned as they were found not far from the site where an elephant was found dead after being poisoned in May. "They most likely belonged to the same herd as the locations where they were found were not far from each other," he said. One of the dead elephants was still young, aged about five years old, Simbolon said adding its tusk remained intact when it was found. The mother elephant was found one kilometer away from the cub's carcass, he said. It was believed the two elephants died two or three days ago, he said. Syamsidar said the conflict between human and elephant in the park has been escalating since 2012. As a matter of fact, the national park was established to help the preservation of the Sumatran elephants whose population now reaches only 150 to 200 in Tesso Nilo. As many as 15 elephants were found dead in Riau in 2012, most of them in Tesso Nilo. "So far this year three elephants have been found dead in Tesso Nilo," he said. (*)