When the wild elephant gets angry

(Baonghean) - When tens of thousands of hectares of bamboo and banana forests are cut down to plant rubber trees, herds of elephants often leave the forest and return to villages to destroy crops. The peak was after the leader of the male elephants was killed for their tusks, a herd of elephants became aggressive towards humans; to date, two people have died and many others have been injured by elephant attacks.

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Recently, wild elephants have not appeared, an elephant-prevention trench has been completed on the mountainside, but that does not make the people in Cao Veu 1 village (Phuc Son commune, Anh Son) feel more secure. "That elephant-prevention trench is only a section long, it cannot cover the whole village. In a few days, when the elephant season comes, it will easily invade the village, destroying crops and houses," Mr. Nguyen Van Chau, Head of Cao Veu 1 village, worried. According to Mr. Chau, elephants often appear in cycles. The most frequent is at the end of the year, when the sugarcane fields in this village are ready for harvest. There are months when herds of elephants come back 5-6 times to destroy crops and houses of the people.

Cao Veu 1 is one of five villages in Phuc Son commune that is regularly harassed by a herd of six elephants. This herd lives in the southeast of Pu Mat National Park, often moving from Mon Son commune (Con Cuong), to remote villages of Phuc Son commune (Anh Son district), then down to Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong), to look for food.

According to local people, they have lived here for a long time. In the past, the elephants occasionally left the forest and went to the villagers' fields to find food. Each time, the people only needed to light a fire and beat gongs to scare the elephants and they ran away into the forest. However, for nearly 10 years now, this traditional way of chasing away elephants has not been effective. "Now they are too ferocious, they chase people whenever they see them. They also destroy houses," said Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (48 years old, living in Cao Veu 1 village). Mr. Thanh was a victim of a herd of ferocious elephants chasing him a few years ago.

A herd of wild elephants destroyed crops in Thanh Chuong district. Photo: Provided by Pu Mat National Park

Previously, the surrounding forests were filled with bamboo and banana trees. Bamboo shoots and wild banana stems were the elephants’ favorite foods. However, in 2009, thousands of hectares of forest on the outskirts of Pu Mat National Park were cut down so that the Forestry Company could plant rubber trees. The lush forests quickly became bare hills. Food sources were limited and their habitats were severely damaged, forcing herds of wild elephants to regularly return to villages where people were growing sugarcane and corn to look for food.

However, unlike before, this time the elephants became more aggressive when facing humans. Many people saw elephants destroying their fields, so they immediately used gongs and made fires. However, instead of running away into the forest, the elephants turned back to attack people.

The climax of the conflict began in 2011. One day at the end of March 2011, Mr. Ha Van Tuan (Cao Veu 1 village), while going to the forest, discovered the carcass of a rotting elephant with a foul smell in the border area between Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) and Phuc Son commune (Anh Son), the tusks had been sawed off to the roots.

Authorities determined that this was the leader of the male elephants that had been shot down by bad guys for their tusks a few months ago. After the male was killed, the herd was left with only two females, two sub-adult males, and a baby. They became more aggressive. Since then, the people of Cao Veu 1, 2, 3, and 4 villages have been constantly harassed. Every time they returned to the village, the elephants roared.

Just two months after Cao Veu people discovered the killing of a male elephant, in May 2011, Mr. Vi Van Sinh (residing in Luc Da commune, Con Cuong), along with a group of people, went to the forest area near Cao Veu 1 village to build a hut and clear land to plant rubber trees for the company. At midnight, while the group was sleeping soundly, a herd of elephants aggressively rushed in and trampled the hut. Mr. Sinh was beaten to death on the spot, another person was seriously injured. The remaining group fled in all directions... Also around this time, people discovered a female elephant giving birth right at the edge of the forest. Therefore, to this day, this herd of elephants still has 6 elephants, the largest among elephant populations in Nghe An.

The camp of Mr. Vi Van Sinh (residing in Luc Da commune, Con Cuong) was trampled by an elephant, Mr. Sinh was beaten to death on the spot. Photo: Provided by Pu Mat National Park

The conflict between elephants and humans is becoming increasingly tense. In April 2013, Mr. Luong Van May (31 years old, residing in Tam Thai commune, Tuong Duong), was working in Khe Ray area (Phuc Son commune) when he was suddenly attacked by a herd of elephants. He tried to run away but was too late, Mr. May was later trampled by the herd of elephants and died on the way to the hospital...

Similarly, in the upper hamlets of Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong), for many years now, people have also “not been able to eat well or sleep well” because of this herd of ferocious elephants. “They often come back at night, and every time they do, people run away. Sugarcane and tea are destroyed. The last time was only 2 months ago,” said Mr. Le Van Thong (55 years old). Once, a herd of elephants came back, and Mr. Thong did not have time to run away, so he quickly climbed onto the roof of his house, held his breath, and waited for the herd to pass before daring to climb down…

Mr. Tran Xuan Cuong - Director of Pu Mat National Park said that 2 years ago, when the unit was building a road to Khe Kem waterfall, a female elephant living alone in the central area of ​​Pu Mat often appeared to cause trouble. It was angry many times, knocking down the camp of the road workers. Some traffic signs on the roads near the elephant's living area were also knocked down many times, although this elephant was considered quite tame.

Meanwhile, in Bac Son and Nam Son communes of Quy Hop district, people are also suffering because of a large female elephant that regularly comes to destroy crops. Some people have also been injured by its attacks. After each time it causes trouble, this elephant returns to the Pu Huong Nature Reserve. Angry because the sugarcane fields and corn fields that are about to be harvested are being destroyed by the elephant, people have repeatedly used flintlock guns to return fire. "Perhaps this elephant's stomach now has 5kg of lead in it. Flammable guns cannot kill it," said a village chief in Bac Son commune.

Elephant-preventing moat built in Cao Veu 1 village. Photo: Tien Hung

In Nghe An, so far, only the elephant herd living in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve has not had any conflicts with humans. This herd usually operates in the high, remote mountainous area on the border between Que Phong district, Laos and Thanh Hoa province.

According to experts, the main cause of the conflict is the exploitation of forest resources, affecting the habitat, causing elephants to lack food sources. Each day, a wild elephant can travel about 50 km. However, the fragmented forests have seriously affected the elephants' travel corridors... In Nghe An, many elephant herds currently have only female elephants living alone. During the mating season, without male elephants, they often become aggressive.

To prevent elephants from returning to villages and destroying crops, a number of solutions have been proposed, including advising people not to plant crops that are elephants' favorite foods such as sugarcane, corn, bananas, cassava, etc., but to change the crop structure. However, this solution seems unfeasible because for people in the mountains, these crops are their source of livelihood. It seems impossible for people to eliminate them...

Tien Hung