Herds Of Elephants Damaged Oil Palm Plantation To Citizens' Lodges In East Aceh

The BKSDA and FKL teams installed a position tracking device on an elephant at i Ranto Peureulak, East Aceh. (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The gardens belonging to residents in Seuneubok Bayu Village, East Aceh District were reportedly damaged by a herd of Sumatran elephants (elephas maximus sumatrensis).

One of the eyewitnesses, Tgk Idrus, said that the herd of elephants is estimated to number 50 and damaged more than 10 hectares of oil palm plantations owned by residents.

"This herd of elephants has been going on for the last 3 days. They have not only destroyed the community's oil palm plantations, but also ransacked the cottages in the garden," said Tgk Idris, quoted by Antara, Monday, January 25.

Dozens of wild elephants began to appear in the residents' plantation areas on Saturday, January 23. At night, the flock disappears and appears the next morning, Sunday, January 24. As a result of the herd of protected animals, the oil palm trees on the people's plantations aged 3-5 years were damaged.

"The oil palm plant is starting to be productive and the owner continues to care for it. But suddenly a herd of elephants damaged it, so that the owner of the garden suffered a lot of losses," said Tgk Idris.

Head of BKSDA Aceh Agus Arianto said that his party had received reports of a herd of Sumatran elephants entering community plantations in Seuneubok Bayu Village, Banda Alam District, East Aceh Regency.

"We have dispatched a team to the location, conducted checks and monitoring, so that later steps can be taken," said Agus Arianto.

Previously, Agus Arianto said Sumatran elephants were protected wild animals.

Based on data from the world nature conservation organization, IUCN, Sumatran elephants are only found on the island of Sumatra. These animals are categorized as critically endangered species and are at high risk of extinction in the wild.

"Damage to elephant habitat can lead to conflict with humans. This conflict can cause economic losses and casualties for humans as well as the survival of these protected animals," said Agus Arianto.

Therefore, the Aceh BKSDA appealed to the community to jointly preserve nature, especially Sumatran elephant wildlife, by not destroying the forest which is their habitat.