Rare elephant found dead in Indonesia: official

JAKARTA: A rare Sumatran elephant was found dead in an oil palm plantation in the province of Riau Island, Indonesia an official said Saturday, with the alleged poisoning.

The elephant was the second to die in the Bengkalis district in a week.
"A female elephant, about 17 years, was found dead yesterday (Friday) in a plantation of palm oil. It could have been dead for three days before we found him, " the province of Riau conservation agency official Adit Gunawan told AFP.

"An autopsy is pending. There is a possibility that the elephant was poisoned by man,"he said.

On Sunday, a female elephant died in the Bengkalis district after blocking a street in the village for a week. Officials said he could have died because of stress, lack of food, or poisoning.

There is more at 3,350 Sumatran elephants in the wild, according to environmental group WWF.

Conflicts between humans and animals that are more people encroach on wildlife habitats in Indonesia, an archipelago with some of the greatest the world's remaining tropical forests. - (AFP