Elephants run amok in Riau

KAMPAR, Riau: Dozens of elephants have run amok in the Kampar subdistrict, destroying 141 hectares of crops and scaring villag ers, reports said yesterday.

Villagers say the animals, which are protected by law, emerge in large herds from nearby forests between dusk and dawn, devouring and trampling crops.

Residents complain the authorities close their eyes to the problem, saying they are tired of asking for help to repulse the big beasts.

"They (elephants) have come again lately. When we hear their scary bellows of hunger, we run into our houses and close the doors until the next day," a resident said.

Antara reported yesterday that a number of villages in Kampar were like "ghost villages". "Farmers are afraid to leave their houses let alone work on their farms," a peasant, Syamsuar, said.

Syamsuar lives in a village near a major oil palm plantation and an Air Force shooting range.

On Sunday, a herd of elephants destroyed a three hectare rubber plantation in Simpangkare village. (pan)