The wild elephant that attacked and killed Natalia Manalu, a resident of Tasik Serai village in Talang Muandau sub-district, Bengkalis, Riau province, was a male, according to the agency’s head, Supartono.
The elephant does not belong to a herd of around 50 wild elephants from the Giam Siak Kecil biosphere reserve and seems to have wandered alone into the forest concession area where the victim’s farm is located, he said.
Supartono informed that early on August 6, 2025, the lone elephant entered Manalu’s farm, looking for food. Its roar woke Manalu and her husband, Oslen Panjaitan, 43.
The couple left their hut to drive away the elephant from their farm in the darkness. However, their efforts to turn it away made it aggressive, Supartono said.
The angry elephant then chased the couple. Panjaitan tried to draw its attention away from his wife by provoking it.
It then pursued Panjaitan until he fell into a ditch. The angry elephant then turned on Manalu, who was holding a flashlight.
On spotting the aggressive elephant charging toward her, she ran, but it caught up with her. Manalu screamed for help as the elephant seized her, Supartono said.
“A team of rangers have been dispatched to the incident location to make sure whether the aggressive lone elephant still wanders there or has returned to the forest,” he informed.
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 Riau, Lampung, and Aceh.
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Translator: Bayu AA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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