"The sample will be examined in a lab test to ensure the causes of death of the Sumatran elephant," the agency's conservation head, Kamarudzaman, told ANTARA upon being contacted from Banda Aceh on Wednesday.
The laboratory test would take at least one month, he remarked, adding that the elephant's carcass was found inside a palm plantation area of Jabal Antara Hamlet in Nisan Antara Sub-district on March 24.
The elephant tusks were gone by the time the local residents had found the animal. A team of BKSDA's veterinarians had been deployed to the location where the carcass of the endangered land mammal was found to conduct a necropsy, he stated.
The veterinarians found that the elephant's vital organs, including heart, spleen, and liver, had entered the first stage of decomposition, or autolysis so they could no longer be examined in the lab test, he revealed.
They then took the sample of dung and ascites for the lab test, he stated, adding that he has yet to conclude the cause of the elephant's death, as the local police are still investigating the case.
Related news: Alleged poaching kills 46-year-old Sumatran elephant in Riau park
ANTARA reported earlier that cases of human-wildlife conflicts (HWCs) continue to be frequently found in Indonesia, as they resulted in human and material losses and deaths of several endangered animals in affected regions.
HWC-related occurrences that are closely related to the damaged condition of the wildlife's natural habitat frequently occur in regions, such as the provinces of Riau, North Sumatra, and Aceh.
In Aceh, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) recorded 113 HWC-related occurrences between 2019 and 2023, including 33 involving Sumatran elephants.
The conflicts had resulted in the deaths of 22 Sumatran elephants, according to Walhi-Aceh Chapter Head Ahmad Shalihin's statement, published on the conservation group's website.
Moreover, ivory traders continue to pose a threat to Sumatran elephants.
On August 27, 2021, police officers in Aceh Jaya District, Aceh Province, arrested 11 people for their involvement in the killings of five Sumatran elephants in 2020 and trading their ivory tusks.
Related news: Aceh BKSDA sanguine about communities sharing space with wildlife
Translator: M.Haris SA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
