Kawanan Gajah Liar Terpantau Bergerak Ke Permukiman Warga Di Jambi, BKSDA Gerak Cepat Menghalau

A herd of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatrensis).(ANTARA)

Jambi - The Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) is trying to dispel the herd of wild Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) which reportedly entered and damaged residents' oil palm plantations in West Tanjungjabung Regency. Head of the Jambi BKSDA Donal Hutasoit said that currently the BKSDA team together with related parties are trying to lead them back into their habitat area in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (TNBT). "The team in the field is currently trying to herd the elephant back into the forest," he said in an official statement received in Jambi, Wednesday, February 28. The Jambi BKSDA on Friday last week received information that 40 elephants were moving from Lubuk Mandarsah Village, Tebo Regency, to Muara Danau Village and Lubuk Kambing Village, West Tanjungjabung Regency. Then on Saturday, February 24, the BKSDA team took to the field and verified the information, the results of which showed the movement of 15 wild elephants in the production forest area which is located close to the TNBT buffer forest, to be precise Lubuk Mandarsah Village. "However, the movement of wild elephants did not lead to Muara Danau Village and Lubuk Kambing Village, but the movement of elephants led to Brandan Hamlet, Lubuk Mandarsah Village, Tebo Regency, which is also close to the production forest area. Currently, the team is still trying to block it from entering and returning to its habitat," said Donal Hutasoit. In this case there are two problems, he said, namely trying to dispel a herd of wild elephants back into the forest in TNBT and the second is to ask residents whose gardens were damaged by a herd of wild elephants to be patient and refrain from acting anarchically.

"We are concerned about this condition and hope that all parties can restrain themselves and jointly find solutions to save wildlife, especially the Sumatran Elephant and Sumatran Orangutan, as assets and pride of the Indonesian nation," said Donal Hutasoit.