[Kabar-indonesia] Aceh elephants run amuck as habitat disappears

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

[Note: also see the previously sent NYT: An Elephant Crackup?,
sent October 8, 2006] 

also: Wild elephants run amuck in South Aceh, Indonesia

The Jakarta Post
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Aceh elephants running wild 

BANDA ACEH: Wild elephants who are losing their natural habitat are 
encroaching on residential areas in Trumon Timur, southern Aceh, destroying hectares of 
crops, 
a local official says.

Trumon Timur district chief Said Azhar said Tuesday the latest incident 
occurred Monday at 10:30 p.m. when three elephants came down on a rice field and 
destroyed the crops. 

Said said that the frequency of elephant incursions into human settlements 
had increased over the past two weeks after the local Natural Resources 
Conservation Center the Leuser International Foundation withdrew two trained elephants 
that 
had been used to scare away the local elephants. 

The two tame elephants and their 12 trainers from the Saree Elephant Training 
Center were on a two-week loan to the area. They managed to catch one wild 
elephant during their time in Trumon Timur. 

"They (tamers) had to leave for the fasting month and we hope they will come 
again after the fasting month," Said said. -- JP 

-----------------------------------------

Wild elephants run amuck in South Aceh, Indonesia

JAKARTA, October 10 (Xinhua) -- A herd of wild elephants attacked
paddy fields in Pinto Rimba village of Indonesia's Aceh province,
inflicting a loss of tens of millions of rupiah on local farmers, the
national Antara news agency reported Tuesday.

The three elephants destroyed paddy fields belonging to local farmers
on Monday evening, Said Azhar, head of East Trumon sub- district of
the province, was quoted by the agency as saying in Banda Aceh,
capital of Aceh province.

Since two tamed elephants were called back from the sub- district by
the Provincial Nature Conservation Agency (BKSDA) and the
International Leuser Foundation (YLI) a few weeks ago, the frequency
of elephant attacks on villages had increased, he said.

The two tamed elephants had been assigned to drive away wild elephants
from human settlements and plantation areas in East Trumon.

Environmental activist Jasrial said the giant animals ran amuck
because their habitat had been encroached on by local villagers.

"Illegal logging activity is one of the reasons that the elephants
attacked the farming areas," he said.

------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------