Flooding drives elephants into residential areas

PEKANBARU: Herds of Sumatran elephants have been closing in on villages in Riau following flooding in their natural habitat.

"Many of them enter residential areas and destroy palm and rice fields," Syahimin, the technical unit head at the local Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA), said in Pekanbaru on Wednesday.

"Elephants don't like wetlands, their instincts lead them to dry areas. Hungry elephants then traipse into agricultural fields for food sources," he said. The BKSDA has recorded elephant disturbances in Tapung district, Siak regency and in Pinggir district, Bengkalis regency.

Syahimin said there were around 50 elephants in the villages. The center has deployed officers to help drive the elephants away. - JP