JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – A pregnant Sumatran elephant was found dead of suspected poisoning near a palm plantation in Indonesia’s Riau province on the island of Sumatra, officials said Friday.
Sumatran elephants are a critically endangered species and fewer than 700 remain on the island. The animal is protected under an Indonesian law on the conservation of biological natural resources and their ecosystems.
Local authorities are investigating the cause of death of the elephant, which was discovered in a joint patrol by local conservation groups on Wednesday. But they strongly suspect it was poisoned.
“From the sign of changes in the shape of its internal organs, such as the lung, it looks like it is burning, black and oozing from the blood,” said Zulhusni Syukri, program director of Rimba Satwa Foundation, one of the groups that found the elephant.
The animal had blood coming out of its mouth and anus, according to Fifin Arfiana Jogasara, the acting head of Riau Natural Resources Conservation, another group on the patrol that found the animal.