Wild elephants kill elderly woman in Sumatra

Apr 27, 2009, 12:41 GMT

   Jakarta - Two wild elephants went on a rampage in Lampung province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, trampling an elderly resident to death, state-run media reported Monday.

   The elephants entered the Belimbing Bengkurat village early Saturday, trampling 70-year-old Punirah, said Kurnia Rauf, head of the Bukit Barisan National Park.

   Rauf was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency that the wild elephants ran amok after they strayed from their herd and into the human settlement.

   Elephants are migrating from the national park to other places during the current transitional season, he said.

   The two beasts were angered when local residents tried to drive them away and attacked Punirah, Rauf said. The settlement is along the traditional elephant migration path.

   Conservationists said widespread destruction of elephant habitat through illegal logging and uncontrolled conversion of forests into oil palm and pulp plantations has created intense conflict between humans and elephants, which are forced to feed on the crops that replaced their natural foods.

   Human-animal conflicts are a rising problem as human settlements encroach on natural habitats in Indonesia, an archipelago nation with some of the world's largest remaining tropical forests.

   Habitat destruction, combined with illegal poaching have slashed the population of Sumatra's wild elephants.

   According to environmentalists, about 4,000 wild elephants roam Sumatra, the only island in Indonesia where they can still be found. They are listed as an endangered species and protected by law.