Elephants run wild as their habitat shrinks

Elephants run wild as their habitat shrinks

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

A herd of some 20 wild elephants from the South Bukit Barisan
National Park (TNBBS) in Lampung ventured again into nearby
settlements in the past week, ravaging dozens of hectares
plantations and residents' houses as their habitat continues to
shrink.

The elephants invaded Tambak Asri, Tenam Sembilan and Sri
Menanti villages in Way Tenong district, West Lampung on Tuesday
night, destroying a house in Tambak Asri and two houses in Tenam
Sembilan.

Joko Santoso of the Illegal Logging Response Center here, said
that the elephants had resorted to destructive behavior due to
the gradual encroachment on their habitat by illegal loggers and
the consequent shortage of food. "Extensive land clearance and
illegal logging activities have heightened the conflict between
the elephants and residents living around the national park,"
said Joko.

According to Joko, there are still around 300 to 400 elephants
remaining in the South Bukit Barisan and Way Kambas national
parks. "They require an adequate range of habitats and food
sources, without which they will come out from the forest and
venture into farms or plantations and villages near them," said
Joko. The conflict has been going for the past few years and it
remains to be seen whether the problem can be resolved soon.

When The Jakarta Post visited the Sri Menanti area (bordering
TNBBS) last year, most parts of the forest were barren. Dozens of
hectares of coffee plantations, an elementary school and
residents' houses were found precisely on the fringes of Sri
Menanti village and the national park.

Based on TNBBS data, Sri Menanti village was enclosed in the
park previously. In the 1970s, the location was omitted from the
park territory and turned into a village.

Trucks carrying sacks of coffee cultivated within the park
area, can be seen every day passing along the main road leading
to Sri Menanti. Dozens of villages found in West Lampung were
previously included within the park zone.

A former World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) activist, Emon, 30,
said that the elephants had resorted to such behavior because
their habitat had been encroached on due to rampant illegal
logging.

According to Emon, the wild elephants frequently enter the
settlements as they feel restless in the forest due to poachers.
"Actually, hunters are issued permits to hunt deer. But, who can
guarantee they won't shoot at elephants and tigers? Eight
elephant carcasses were found in the national park last year,
abandoned by poachers after cutting off their tusks," said the
environmentalist who is monitoring large wildlife species, such
as elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers.

Head of the South Bukit Barisan National Park, Tamen Sitorus,
said that the herd of elephants usually enter the villages twice
a year using a similar route generally at night and return to the
forest the next morning.

According to Tamen, his office has assigned seven forest
rangers, assisted by local residents, to drive the elephants back
to the forest using traditional methods, such as bamboo torches
and beating bamboo or wooden drums.

"We certainly cannot blame the elephants because they enter
the villages because their habitat is damaged. Illegal logging
activities have continued unabated. Most of the villages, now
crowded with people, were once the elephants' habitat," said
Tamen.