Elephants go on rampage in Sumatra<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Wild elephants went on a rampage on Indonesia's Sumatra
\nisland, destroying palm-oil plantations in Riau province, media
\nreports said Friday.<\/p>\n
A "conflict" between the wild beasts and encroaching villagers
\nwas cited as the cause of the elephant's rampage that severely
\ndamaged dozens of acres of farmland in Rokan Hulu regency, the
\nstate-run Antara news agency reported.<\/p>\n
"This continuous conflict is caused by the damage of
\nelephant's habitat that leads to a scarcity of food for them,"
\nNurchalis Fadli, the leader of elephant team for World Wildlife
\nFund (WWF), was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists and conservation officials have said that
\ndue to destruction of their habitat for development and illegal
\nactivities, elephants have posed a constant threat to humans.<\/p>\n
"Riau's forest has disappeared into just mangrove forest, so
\nwhen the rainy season comes and causes the mangrove forest to
\nflood, those elephants will go to the nearest safe area," Fadli
\nsaid, adding that Riau province has lost more than 50 per cent of
\nits forest in the last twenty years.<\/p>\n
Habitat destruction, combined with illegal poaching, has
\nslashed the population of wild elephants on Sumatra, the only
\nisland in Indonesia where they can still be found. An estimated
\n4,000 of the protected species still live there. -- dpa<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/elephants-go-on-rampage-in-sumatra-1447893297",
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