Two of the elephants were orphaned calves, police officials say

Aug 15, 2013 13:10 GMT  ·  By
Villagers in Indonesia's Aceh province believed to have killed 5 elephants in just 6 weeks' time
   Villagers in Indonesia's Aceh province believed to have killed 5 elephants in just 6 weeks' time

Over the past six weeks, the bodies of six elephants have been discovered in Indonesia's Aceh province. Two of these animals were orphaned calves, police officials in charge of investigating the killings explain.

It appears that, contrary to what some might expect, these elephants were not killed by poachers.

On the contrary, it is likely that they died at the hands of locals who weren't happy about the fact that these animals kept destroying their crops.

According to Mongabay, people living in a village named Ranto Sabon have actually admitted that they were the ones who had slaughtered a 22-year-old elephant named Genk.

To prove that they have absolutely no interest in illegally marketing ivory, they handed the animal's tusks to police officials.

“Our motive was not to look for money. If we wanted to hunt for ivory we would not have killed the elephant in the village, but in the forest,” village head Keuchik Amiruddin reportedly said.

Conservationists say that, as human communities continue to expand and encroach on these animals' natural habitats, such conflicts are inevitable.

It goes without saying that, more often than not, the elephants are the ones that find themselves losing the fight.