The Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) recorded that the deaths – including from poisoning, shooting and ensnarement in electrical traps – were mostly caused by humans.
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BANDA ACEH, KOMPAS – Bunta, a trained 30-year-old male elephant, was found dead in Serbajadi district, East Aceh regency, Aceh, by the Conservation Response Unit (CRU). The elephant had apparently eaten something doused with poison. This is adds to the 56 cases of elephant deaths over the past six years.
The Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) recorded that the deaths – including from poisoning, shooting and ensnarement in electrical traps – were mostly caused by humans.
Aceh BKSDA chair Sapto Aji Prabowo said on Sunday (10/6/2018) that hunting still occurred within the CRU grounds, which should be a safe place for elephants to roam. The CRU is a mitigation center for conflicts with animals. In the Serbajadi CRU, four trained elephants help protect the local village from wild elephants in its vicinity. Bunta’s death showed that protected animals do not enjoy the level of protection that they should.
Bunta was found dead at 8 a.m. on Saturday (9/6). A gaping wound was found on his left cheek and his left tusk was missing. “It was probably death by poisoning. Perhaps, after [Bunta] died, his killers took his tusk by hacking at his cheek. The blood was still wet when the elephant was found dead,” Sapto said.
The attack is believed to have taken place at night. “The perpetrators might have information on the CRU’s activities, but I shouldn\'t speculate on who did it,” Sapto said.
Bunta’s body was discovered by elephant trainer Saifuddin, who took care of him. On Bunta’s last night, he was chained in his usual spot, some 400 meters from where the elephant trainers slept. The next morning, Saifuddin found Bunta dead.
Sapto said he did not hear any sounds from the elephants on the night of the incident. Elephants dying from poisoning make no sounds. “Often they flounder or, if they can walk they will try to find water,” Sapto said. This means that the perpetrators had information on the CRU’s activities and understood elephant behavior.
Bunta was wild when he was caught by locals in Bungong Ta, Alue Rambe village, Nisam district, North Aceh, in 2007. His name was an acronym of Bungong Ta. Bunta was later trained at the Saree elephant training center in Aceh Besar. It was only in 2016 that he was involved in dealing with elephant-human conflict in East Aceh.
Unprotected
The death of a tamed elephant at an elephant conflict mitigation center shows that the animals are unprotected. It used to be that only wild elephants were hunted. Now, tamed elephants are also targeted. Elephants’ safety is increasingly threatened. “The perpetrators are barbaric. They must be punished severely,” Sapto said.
Leuser Conservation Forum (FKL) manager Rudi Putra said he was shocked by the death of a tamed elephant due to poisoning within the CRU grounds. This means that even a safe place like the CRU is full of threats for elephants. This is a bad precedent for the protection of wild animals.
Both Rudi and Sapto urged the authorities to investigate Bunta’s death and bring whoever was responsible to justice. “This is an extraordinary crime. They have no problem in killing tamed elephants, let alone wild ones,” Rudi said.
Elephants are among the protected animals most threatened by hunting. Between January and April this year, the FKL found 393 animal snares within the Leuser ecosystem region. Some 136 of these snares were big, with elephants and tigers as the main targets.
East Aceh Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wahyu Kuncoro said investigators had checked the crime scene. An autopsy by a veterinarian from Aceh BKSDA has been conducted. The elephant’s internal organs have been sent for lab checks. “We cannot yet conclude whether the elephant was killed or not. We will wait for the lab results,” said Wahyu, adding that the police would investigate the case thoroughly.