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N. Sumatra conservation camp records 1st elephant death
The Aek Nauli Elephant Conservation Camp (ANECC) in North Sumatra has recorded the first death of an elephant under its care, Dwiki, from complications due to a dental infection.
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A Sumatran elephant is seen on Nov. 29, 2017 in the forests of the Sampoiniet Camp Conservation Response Unit in Aceh Jaya, Aceh. (Antara/Irwansyah Putra)
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Sumatran elephant has died of malnutrition and malabsorption during treatment due to a dental infection at the Aek Nauli Elephant Conservation Camp (ANECC) in Simalungun, North Sumatra.
The male elephant, named Dwiki, had been transferred to the camp on Dec. 18 from the Barumun Nagari Wildlife Sanctuary (BNWS) in North Padang Lawas regency, along with another Sumatran elephant that had a wound on its right cheek.
In the second week of February, Dwiki started to show changes in his behavior and refused to eat.
Rudianto Saragih Napitu, head of conservation at the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said an ANECC team had tried to give Dwiki drugs and vitamins via intravenous drip, but his condition continued to deteriorate and he died on Feb. 14 morning.
“This is the first elephant to die at the camp,” Rudianto told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The animal’s remains were buried in the ANECC grounds, though its tusks had been removed for storing at the offices of the North Sumatra BKSDA.
The Sumatran elephant has been classified since 2011 as “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Due to forest conversions into human settlements and agricultural areas, many Sumatran elephants have been exposed to human contact, some resulting in serious incidents of animal-human conflict.
The Sumatran elephant is endemic to Indonesia, where it lives in only seven provinces, many under the increased pressure of habitat loss and imminent conflict with people.
Earlier this month, a 45-year-old farmer was killed after she was allegedly crushed by elephants while staying overnight at a plantation, located around 3 kilometers from Lhok Keutapang village in Pidie, Aceh. The farmer’s husband discovered her body on Feb. 12 and reported the incident to the village administration.
Aceh BKSDA chief Agus Arianto said the plantation and the hut where the farmer had overnighted were located on the elephants’ customary migration route.
He also suspected that the latest incident had involved the same elephant group that trampled a person to death in October in Keumala district, also in Pidie regency. (dre)
