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INDONESIA-ENVIRONMENT-ELEPHANT
Pregnant elephant ‘poisoned’ in Indonesian palm plantation
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Dec 27, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – A pregnant elephant has
been found dead in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, in
what authorities suspect was a deliberate poisoning, an official said
Wednesday.
The animal’s body was found near the remote Seuneubok Bayu village in Aceh
on December 22, after authorities received a tip off from locals, Aceh
conservation centre head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.
“The 25-year-old elephant had been dead for around 10 days when we got
there,” he said.
“From the autopsy, we saw that its digestive organs turned black which the
doctor said was a general indication of poisoning.”
The Sumatran elephant was carrying 13-month old male foetus and was at
least six months short of giving birth.
Locals have told authorities that several days before the carcass was
discovered farmers had complained an elephant ate their fertiliser.
Sumatran elephant are critically endangered and a protected species, but
rampant deforestation for plantations has reduced their natural habitat and
brought them into conflict with humans.
At least 11 wild elephants died in Aceh this year, most of them killed by
humans, according to Prabowo.
In January, authorities found a dead elephant without tusks in Aceh, along
with its abandoned 11-month-old calf.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1214 hrs