Wild Elephants Found Dead And Decomposing In Bener Meriah

Discovery of Dead Elephants in Bener Meriah, Aceh (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - A wild elephant was found dead in a rotten state in the plantation area of residents in Belang Rakal Village, Bener Meriah Regency, Aceh Province.

Camat Pintu Rime Gayo Edi Iwansyah Putra confirmed this incident. The dead elephant is rotten and is thought to have died three to four days ago.

"Residents found a dead elephant on Tuesday, January 12, at around 10:00 WIB. The condition was smelly, swollen, estimated to have been dead for three to four days," said Edi.

Edi said it seemed that the dead elephant was a female because it did not grow ivory. When viewed from the feet, the elephant is still a teenager.

The discovery of the dead elephant began when residents were about to herd a herd of wild elephants away from the residents' plantation areas. The dead elephant was found in a tributary in the Dusun Pasar Rakal area.

"We have coordinated with related parties for further handling. The BKSDA team from Banda Aceh has also moved and tomorrow (Wednesday) will arrive at the location," he said.

Edi Iwansyah Putra said that to determine the cause of the death of the wild elephant, he had to wait for the identification that would be carried out by the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) team.

He hopes that the handling of the elephant's death can be carried out quickly, considering that the protected animals have become carcasses in the stream.

"This river is used daily by residents as a source of clean water. Therefore, we hope that the elephant carcass will be buried soon. If the carcass takes too long, it is feared that it will pollute the water," said Edi Iwansyah Putra.