REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU -- A herd of wild Sumatran elephants (elephas maximus sumatranus) ravaged a coconut plantation in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, on Monday morning. Mangido Nababan, owner of the plantation, said that some 13 elephants entered the plantation.
The elephants were first spotted by local residents on Saturday evening (Feb 16), and they later entered Nababan's plantation. Hundreds of seedlings and some 20 four-year-old coconut trees were eaten and damaged by the elephants.
Nababan informed Antara on Monday that the wild elephants had entered and destroyed his plantations thrice so far, including the first being on July 30, 2017, and again on August 10, 2019.
Meanwhile, 32 wild Sumatran elephants had ravaged dozens of hectares of the local farmers' agricultural land in Negeri Antara Village, Pintu Rime Gayo Sub-district, Bener Meriah District, in Aceh Province in early February 2019. As a result, several local farmers severely suffered material losses, caused by damaged crops and fruits. They also developed a fear of entering their farms, a resident of Negeri Antara Village, Ismail, informed Antara when contacted on February 10, 2019.
The hungry Sumatran elephants ravaged the farms that local farmers used for their durian and banana orchards, as well as for planting pinang or areca nut palm trees and other crops, Ismail revealed.
"The government is expected to resolve this human-elephant conflict," he stated, adding that as of Sunday, the wild elephants were still wandering around the village's area, triggering fear among farmers to enter the farms.
The wild elephants not only ravaged the farmers' agricultural land but they also damaged their huts, Ismail noted.
In dealing with this human-elephant conflict, the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) officers attempted to drive out the jumbo animals from the village area, Head of Peusangan Conservation Response Unit Syahrul Rizal remarked. However, the wild Sumatran elephants could still be spotted around the village's area that they had trespassed into several weeks ago.
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