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Pekanbaru, Riau. Despite the threat of more elephant attacks in the Bengkalis district of Riau, an official said on Sunday that there was little chance of relocating about 40 wild Sumatran elephants that went on a rampage a day earlier and destroyed at least three houses in the village of Petani.

“At this stage, there is no way we can do a large-scale relocation of the elephants because, as territorial animals, they would find it difficult to adapt to a new habitat, wherever that may be,” said Trisnu Danisworo, head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Center.

Trisnu said that there had been suggestions of relocating the pachyderms to the Tesso Nilo National Park, the native habitat of the Sumatran elephant that stretches across the Pelalawan and Indragiri Hulu districts in Riau and is home to hundreds of endangered flora and fauna, including about 80 Sumatran elephants.

The 40-odd elephants began entering Petani village a little over a week ago before going on a rampage on Saturday, destroying at least three houses and leaving 20 other homes with minor structural damages. Although no fatalities were reported, 11 families, fearing for their lives, have moved from the village since the attack.

Trisnu said on Sunday that the center had already dispatched a special taskforce to drive the elephants away from the villages as a short-term solution.

“We were able to scare off the elephants, which should minimize the conflict,” said Trisnu, adding that the taskforce consisted of five people who burned tires and cakes made of elephant dung that emit a pungent smoke to deter the animals.

Trisnu acknowledged however that these methods could not guarantee that the elephants would stop entering villages, stating once again that dwindling forests are the main cause of the increasing deadly conflicts between man and animal.

The forests that once covered Riau are disappearing, and this has seen the province’s elephant population plunge from over 1,500 in the 1980s to 350 today.

Darori, the Forestry Ministry’s director general of forest protection and nature conservation, said the attacks on Saturday occurred because more and more people were cutting down trees.

“The movements of the elephants are actually very ordered. They will always walk along the same paths and eat at the same places over and over again. They will even litter at the same spots,” Darori said, adding that the local administration had failed to discipline companies or officials who cut down trees on land that is known to be vital for the elephants’ survival.

“People invade their areas, chop down trees and cause confusion among the elephants. So they end up entering villages,” Darori said.

“Local governments are supposed to sanction those — mostly companies — who encroach on conservation areas. But nothing is ever done. So it’s the villagers who feel the impact,” he said.

 

Additional reporting by Fidelis E Satriastanti.