The elephants were sighted in the Talang Daiyah residential area on Monday at 9 p.m. local time, Sugeng Hari Kinaryo Adi, an officer of the wild elephant task force for Suoh and Bandar Negeri Suoh, stated.
"I received a report of the wild Sumatran elephants again sneaking into the Talang Daiyah residential area on Monday evening," he told ANTARA, which contacted him from South Lampung District on Tuesday.
According to Adi, some 18 wild Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) that entered the residential area on Monday were driven back to the forest near Sidorejo Village.
These large land mammals, however, again entered the residential area at night on Monday and destroyed the locals' farmlands, he remarked.
To protect the settlers and their farmlands from this wandering herd of elephants, the task force's personnel and villagers continued to monitor their movement, he noted.
The situation remained under control, and the villagers need not take refuge, though they are suggested to stay alert, he added.
The Indonesian government has listed Sumatran elephants among the critically endangered mammals in the country.
Over the past few years, human-elephant conflicts have become a major conservation concern in several provinces in Sumatra, including Lampung and Aceh.
In Aceh, at least 14 herds of wild Sumatran elephants, for instance, had wandered in search of food in the areas of districts such as Tamiang, Pidie, Central Aceh, Bener Meriah, and Biruen in February 2019.
According to figures published on the official website of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the population of Sumatran elephants is estimated to be about 2,400–2,800 individuals.
The world's leading organization on wildlife conservation and endangered species has pointed out that ivory can still be found in markets around Africa and Asia, as well as in the United States and Europe.
The WWF has also noted that poaching for the illegal ivory trade remains a serious threat to the lives of wild elephants in several countries.
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Translator: Riadi G, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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