WWF Calls On Indonesian Government To Seriously Protect Elephants

Jakarta (Antara Bali)- The WWF Indonesia expressed regret over the continuous deaths of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) and has urged the government to adopt serious measures to protect the endangered animals.

"If the law is not enforced firmly to prevent killing and poaching of elephants, the Sumatran elephants will become extinct within less than 10 years from now," WWF Indonesia's Wildlife Species Campaigner Sunarto stated here, Thursday.

On April 13, an elephant was found dead without its tusks and trunk in Kareung Hampa village, Lam Balek sub-district, West Aceh District, Aceh Darussalam Province, around 150 meters from a palm oil plantation owned by PT Agro Sinergi Nusantara (ASN).

According to WWF's data, 36 elephants have been found dead in Aceh since 2012. Most of them had died due to poisoning, while some were electrocuted or entangled in plantations.

With the latest case, nearly 200 elephants have been found dead on Sumatra Island over the past three years, or over 10 percent of the total population of Sumatran elephants. "We demand that the security authorities should investigate this case and arrest those responsible for the elephant's death," Sunarto noted.

The population of Sumatran elephants has decreased drastically. According to the Indonesian Elephant Forum in 2014, there were 1.7 thousand Sumatran elephants left. (WDY)