2 rare elephants shot dead
in Indonesian jungles
Two Sumatran elephants were found dead with gunshots to the head
in a protected forest in western Indonesia, a conservationist said
Tuesday.
Park rangers have been riding the animals for weeks in the
Kerinci National Park and surrounding areas to prevent entry by
illegal loggers, who have been clearing jungles at an alarming rate
to make way for palm oil and other commercial plantations.
Though provincial conservation chief Andi Basrul refused to
speculate on a motive for the shootings, he said they appeared to
have been carried out by professional poachers.
Basrul said the Sumatran elephants were both 20-year-old
females. Rangers found their bodies on March 24, hours after they
were used for a patrol and several hundred yards (meters) from
their camp.
Conservationists believe there are less that 3,000 Sumatran
elephants remaining in the wild.
"It is a big blow to our efforts to protect these endangered
animals," Basrul said.
The habitats of Sumatran elephants are quickly shrinking due to
illegal logging and land clearing. That has led, increasingly, to
clashes with humans, often because the starving animals stray into
villages and destroy crops in their search for food.
An investigation will be carried out into the latest attack in
Bengkulu province on Sumatra island, said Yatim Suyatmo, a police
spokesman.