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Again Three Dead Elephants Found
Jambi -Three more Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus Sumatranus) were found dead. This time they were found in an industry plantation forest in Tebo district. Humans were suspected to be the cause of the deaths.
Our suspicion and temporary analysis concludes the elephants were poisoned because they were considered pests to palm oil trees owned by local citizens,” said Head of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of Jambi, Didy Wurjanto, in Jambi on Wednesday.
Skulls of the three Sumatran elephant were found in the forest. They were found in two separate locations, one near the junction of Lalo River and another near Pinang Belai River, both sites separated by around 600 meters.
The elephant skulls were found when a team from the agency and the Wildlife Protection Unit-Frankfurt Zoological Society (WPU-FZS) was doing a patrol and survey on elephant distribution in the area.
Head of the agency explained the death of the elephants was closely related to human-elephant conflict in the area within the last few years.
The area which is planned for industry plantation forest is actually part of the elephant’s habitat. Now, part of it has turned into palm oil plantations. In turn, elephants are starting to eat the palm oil because their main food sources are gone.
Didy said, locally owned palm oils plantations are showing up because the industry is recruiting people to be plasma farmers, unknowingly destroying elephant habitats.
Elephants are traditional animals, each ear they will go through the same routes to find food, especially between Tebo and Indragiri Hulu (Riau province) at the edge of the lowlands of Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (TNBT).
“Because their routes have now been converted to palm oil plantations, the elephants became divided, some entered the plantations and ruined it,” said Didy.
Therefore to prevent further disruptions to the elephants, industries opening plantations are advised to not take all of the elephant’s routes.
“The government should also regulate the industry so they would not convert areas which are elephant habitats or routes,” said Didy who is also Head of the Culture and Tourism Office of Jambi Province.
In response to reports of plantations destroyed by elephants in Tebo, he suggested that people no longer plant that area and just let it be.
The agency in collaboration with NGOs are searching for sponsors to develop the area for ecotourism, for example develop elephant tours, establish an Elephant Training Center to train elephant.
“Therefore, the people could reap benefit from this ecotourism,” he said.
Didy suspects that industries opening their own plantation are not good for the people because the industry’s plantations are protected by 4 meter wide trenches which prevent elephants from entering.
”In turn, palm oil trees owned by citizens that are planted in the outskirts are becoming the target of the elephants,” he said.
WPU-FZS Coordinator Peni Widyaningsih explains the elephant skulls were found in the 61,000 hectare production forest allocated for PT Lestari Asri Jaya by the government.
Not far from the site was a palm oil plantation owned by PT Reganas.
Previously in May 2008, said Peni, the FZS patrol team had found three dead elephants which had been burned. A few months later a baby elephant was found suffering from fertilizer poisoning and had later died in a trench of a palm oil plantation.
“The human-elephant conflict in Tebo has started to increase following massive forest conversion into plantations,” Peni said.
The elephant skulls were found when a team from the agency and the Wildlife Protection Unit-Frankfurt Zoological Society (WPU-FZS) was doing a patrol and survey on elephant distribution in the area.
Head of the agency explained the death of the elephants was closely related to human-elephant conflict in the area within the last few years.
The area which is planned for industry plantation forest is actually part of the elephant’s habitat. Now, part of it has turned into palm oil plantations. In turn, elephants are starting to eat the palm oil because their main food sources are gone.
Didy said, locally owned palm oils plantations are showing up because the industry is recruiting people to be plasma farmers, unknowingly destroying elephant habitats.
Elephants are traditional animals, each ear they will go through the same routes to find food, especially between Tebo and Indragiri Hulu (Riau province) at the edge of the lowlands of Bukit Tiga Puluh National Park (TNBT).
“Because their routes have now been converted to palm oil plantations, the elephants became divided, some entered the plantations and ruined it,” said Didy.
Therefore to prevent further disruptions to the elephants, industries opening plantations are advised to not take all of the elephant’s routes.
“The government should also regulate the industry so they would not convert areas which are elephant habitats or routes,” said Didy who is also Head of the Culture and Tourism Office of Jambi Province.
In response to reports of plantations destroyed by elephants in Tebo, he suggested that people no longer plant that area and just let it be.
The agency in collaboration with NGOs are searching for sponsors to develop the area for ecotourism, for example develop elephant tours, establish an Elephant Training Center to train elephant.
“Therefore, the people could reap benefit from this ecotourism,” he said.
Didy suspects that industries opening their own plantation are not good for the people because the industry’s plantations are protected by 4 meter wide trenches which prevent elephants from entering.
”In turn, palm oil trees owned by citizens that are planted in the outskirts are becoming the target of the elephants,” he said.
WPU-FZS Coordinator Peni Widyaningsih explains the elephant skulls were found in the 61,000 hectare production forest allocated for PT Lestari Asri Jaya by the government.
Not far from the site was a palm oil plantation owned by PT Reganas.
Previously in May 2008, said Peni, the FZS patrol team had found three dead elephants which had been burned. A few months later a baby elephant was found suffering from fertilizer poisoning and had later died in a trench of a palm oil plantation.
“The human-elephant conflict in Tebo has started to increase following massive forest conversion into plantations,” Peni said.
Sumber : Antara News