Dead Elephant Molly Dragged By River Current Buried At Bali Zoo

DENPASAR - Bali Zoo buried the carcass of a Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) named Molly in the zoo area in Singapadu Village, Sukawati, Gianyar Regency, Bali.

"Molly, we have buried dizoo," said Head of Public Relations (Humas) Bali Zoo Emma Kristiana Chandra, Wednesday, December 18.

The 45-year-old female elephant was buried at around 24.00 WITA on Tuesday (17/12) after being lifted from the bottom of the Cengceng River rocks in Guwang Village, or about 2.8 kilometers from the conservation agency.

The joint team was finally able to evacuate Molly's carcass on Tuesday evening using heavy equipment from the Cengceng River, which at that time had gradually receded.

The body of the jumbo animal with a weight estimated at around 2.5 tons was then transported using a special truck to transport heavy goods to the zoo covering an area of about 12 hectares.

The team even had to open evacuation access around river cliffs because many trees grew quite thick and the terrain was quite steep, with the depth of the ravine estimated at more than 10 meters.

Previously, Molly was dragged by the swift current of the Wos River flowing around the zoo area.

Together with his handler, the elephant, known to have a calm nature, is undergoing routine environmental socialization, including playing with water, which at that time was flowing quietly and at the same time it had also been raining since morning.

When he was about to return to the cage by crossing the river at around 15.30 WITA on Monday (16/12), suddenly the river current became swift and dragged Molly's body.

The increasing river water discharge and the swift flow of the Wos River caused the female elephant's body to be dragged up to 2.8 kilometers.a

Molly's death caused the elephant collection to decrease at the conservation agency, which is currently 14, consisting of four males and 10betina.