Gajah Molly Dies Dragged By The Cengceng River, Gianyar Bali

GIANYAR - A Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) collection of Bali Zoo conservation institutions was found dead stuck at the bottom of the Cengceng River, Gianyar Regency, due to being swept away by the current of the Wos River.

"We, together with the Bali BKSDA and assisted by the community, finally found our elephant being swept away after almost 15 hours of searching," said Head of Public Relations (Humas) Bali Zoo Emma Kristiana Chandra, Tuesday, December 17.

Emma explained that the chronology of the tragic event occurred on Monday (16/12) at around 15.30 WITA, when an elephant named Mollyu was given time to play, explore the environment, and undergo mental and physical stimulation.

After playing in the water with another elephant, Tina and escorted by two handlers, Molly walked across the river to return to her cage.

"At that time Tina's elephant had managed to cross the river followed by Molly and there was a handler behind. Molly was almost at the edge, suddenly she (Molly) was silent and that's when she was hit by heavy currents and our handlers tried to catch up and couldn't," added Emma with sobbing.

At that time the weather conditions in almost all areas of Bali were being hit by heavy rains that lasted from morning to evening.

The body of the female elephant weighing about 2.5 tons was found at around 06.30 WITA this Tuesday or about 2.8 kilometers from the starting point, namely on the edge of the Wos River in the conservation agency area.

Currently, Molly's body is still at the bottom of the rocky river which is currently receding in Guwang Village, Sukawati District, and covered in blue tarpaulin.

The conservation agency then tied Molly with chains linked to the trees on the river cliffs to prevent her from being dragged back.

There is also an altitude from the riverbed to the ground surface estimated to be around 5-10 meters.

Bali Zoo is currently coordinating with the Provincial Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), the Gianyar Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and other related parties to deploy heavy equipment to remove Molly's body.

His party also coordinated with traditional villages to assist the evacuation process considering the terrain is quite steep and crosses footpaths and trees.

The conservation agency manager estimates that Molly's body can swell to about one ton of additional weight due to the process of decaying and entering too much water so that the evacuation process requires extra effort.

If successfully evacuated, the Bali Zoo plans to bury Molly in the conservation area.