Two More Sumatran Elephants Found Dead in Riau

Pekanbaru (Antara Bali) - Two Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) were found dead, allegedly poisoned, in Tesso Nilo National Park, Pelalawan District, Riau province, on Wednesday, a spokesman said on Sunday.

"The two elephants found dead were cub and its mother. They  likely belonged to the same herd," the head of the park, Kupi Simbolon said here Sunday.

The elephant carcasses were found last Friday when personnel of  the park and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) monitored the movement of wild elephants in the park, he said.

"This is very worrying that too many elephants have died and I promise not to let this continue," he  said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the WWF Program for Riau, Syamsidar said the elephants were allegedly poisoned as they were found not far from the site where an elephant was found dead after being poisoned in May. (IGT)