Sumatran Elephant Baby Found Dead In East Aceh Plantation

Elephants were found dead in the Afdeling 1 area of PT Antakara, Seumanah Jaya Village, Ranto Peureulak District, East Aceh Regency, Wednesday (12/7/2023). ANTARA/HO

The Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) stated that an individual baby Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) was found dead in a plantation area in East Aceh Regency.

Head of the Conservation Section Region I BKSDA Aceh Kamarudzaman said the carcass of the baby elephant was found to be rotting.

"We cannot guess the cause of the baby elephant's death. The baby elephant is still red. Later, the team of veterinarians will decide what is the cause of the baby elephant's death," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 12.

The Aceh BKSDA has deployed a team of doctors to the location where the baby elephant was found. The team is expected to arrive at the location of the baby elephant carcass on Thursday (13/7) morning.

"From the information we received, the location of the baby elephant carcass was in an oil palm plantation that entered the Seumanah Jaya Village area, Ranto Peureulak District, East Aceh Regency," said Kamaruzzaman.

A baby Sumatran elephant was found dead in the Afdeling 1 area of PT Antakara, Seumanah Jaya Village, Ranto Peureulak District, East Aceh Regency.

"There was a baby elephant found dead. We do not yet know the cause of the baby elephant's death. The baby elephant was found to be rotten," said Seumanah Village Secretary Jaya Yudi.

His party has reported the discovery of the elephant calf carcass so that it can be followed up immediately and the cause of death of the protected animal is known.

Sumatran elephants are protected wildlife by law. Based on the list of wildlife in the world, Sumatran elephants are only found on the island of Sumatra which is critically threatened and at high risk of extinction in the wild.

The BKSDA appealed to the community to jointly preserve wild animals, especially Sumatran elephants, by protecting the forest which is their habitat, not killing, and carrying out other practices that cause the death of elephants.