Elephants die at training center

BENGKULU, Bengkulu: Stress and throat inflammation have swept through the Seblat elephant training center, killing two female elephants, a press report said yesterday.

Seblat Elephant Training Center's deputy chief, M.H. Simanjuntak, said the beats' health problems had nothing to do with tough training, Antara reported.

Fitria the elephant had died of throat inflammation. She had been caught in northern Bengkulu in 1994. And Pince had died of stress a few weeks after she was brought to the center, Simanjuntak said.

The center now trains nine female and 24 male elephants to drag logs and perform acrobatics.

Established in 1992, the training center is in the Hulu Seblat recreational park, which borders the Kerinci Seblat national park. (pan)