Dumai, Riau, May 5 (ANTARA) - A herd of wild elephants have run amok and damaged crops in Pujud sub district, Rokan Hilir District, Riau Province, over the past one week.
The wild elephants often intruded into plantations belonging to local people without warning, Ramlan, a prominent figure of Pujud village, said here Thursday.
"Sometimes they came at noon, and even evening. We cannot predict because they can come any time, and this makes the villagers worried," he said.
Within a week, the elephants destroyed ten hectares of oil palm amd rubber plantations where the plants were only three to four years old, he said.
The elephants were spotted for the first time on Sunday (May 1), and since then they came back every day.
"Yesterday (Wednesday, May 4), local residents saw three elephants roaming around the plantation area," he said.
The unexpected presence of the wild animals forced local farmers to stay away from their plantations for safety's sake.
Pujud Sub District Head Hasyim said he had received reports about the elephants since a week ago.
"So far there are no reports of casualties, but the locals complain the damage done by the elephants to their plantations meant quite significant material losses to them," he said.
Hasyim called on the local Natural Resourced Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to help deal with the elephant problem.
Meanwhile, the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) confirmed that two dead elephants found at Duri, Bengkalis District, were poisoned.
"There are indications that the two elephants died after being poisoned," Riau BBKSDA Chairman Syahimin said in Dumai Wednesday.
The two Sumatran elephants (Elephant maximus sumatranus), both female, were found dead recently at Duri, a region where conflicts between people and elephants often happen.
The confirmation about the cause of their deaths, was received from a sample test from the Veterinary Test and Investigation Office (BPPV) in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.
The first dead elephant was found late March. The case had caused a furor among local villagers because the 20-year elephant was lying in the middle of a road with a two-year old elephant.
On April 1, another female elephant was found dead in the same Duri area. ***4***
