Elephant - Human Conflict Continues In Petani Village

Bengkalis, Riau, Nov 18 (ANTARA) - Tens of wild Sumatran elephants have invaded Petani village, Mandau subdistrict, Bengkalis district, Riau Province, over the past week, the village's head, Rianto, said.

Speaking to ANTARA here Thursday, Rianto said the wild elephants' presence had forced many of the villagers to stay home as working on their farms as usual had become risky.

"My people now prefer to stay at home and not to work," he said.

A villager named Saidardja, 48, said a herd of about 20 elephants was frequently entering Petani village, specially the area between their settlement and cultivation fields.

The elephants had also destroyed the crops of many villagers. "We could not do anything, except watch them ramapge on our cultivation fields," he said.

Saidardja said he himself was still traumatized by a number of fatal accidents caused by wild elephants that had run amuck.

He said he kept trying to survive amid the elephants' ongoing invasion by preparing fire crackers for forcing those large-land mammals to go away.

Another villager named Aprillia, 39, said he had even made big camouflaged holes around his house and his oil palm plantation as traps for the wild animals.

"If an elephant falls into a hole, I will call the local natural resource conservation agency's authority to get the animal out," he said.

The conflict between elephants and humans remains a serious problem for the people of Bengkalis.

Last June, a herd of wild elephants also attacked Petani village, damaging four houses.

The wild animals also killed a local resident recently. The villagers, whose houses were damaged, took refuge in relatives' houses and neighbors.

Budi, 40, one of the villagers whose house was damaged, said at least 25 families had taken refuge for security reasons last June.

Attacks by wild elephants on Petani village also occurred last March.

At the time, the animals destroyed three houses. While there were no fatalities, the wild elephants' attacks had caused local residents to panic and flee to safer places.

The wild elephants did not only destroy three houses but also damaged the villagers' crops.