Nghe An: Wild elephants trample 2 hectares of acacia trees.

(Baonghean.vn) -At 10:30 PM on October 10th, during a heavy rainstorm, a herd of six wild elephants appeared.They destroyed trees and crops belonging to Mr. Phan Van Dai's family in Bai Da village, Phuc Son commune (Anh Son district).

This is not the first time the wild elephant herd has come close to residential areas and destroyed crops in Anh Son. (Photo: Archival image)

Mr. Phan Van Dai recounted: "The whole family was asleep when we heard a loud noise. We woke up and went to see what was happening, and I was horrified to see a herd of six elephants destroying our family's acacia plantation. I immediately ran and shouted for the villagers to come and chase them away. But despite everything, the elephants destroyed 2 hectares of acacia trees and many other trees in our garden."

As soon as they learned that the elephants were causing damage, the Anh Son Protective Forest Management Board arrived and, along with 20 young men from the village, gathered to light fires and make noise to scare the elephants away. However, the herd only left at 2 am. Photo: Thai Hien

Mr. Phan Bá Đông, head of Bãi Đá village in Phúc Sơn commune, said: "As soon as we learned that elephants were causing damage in the area, the Anh Sơn Protective Forest Management Board arrived and, along with 20 young men from the village, gathered to light fires, shout, and make noise to drive the herd of elephants away. It wasn't until 2 am on October 11th that the elephants left the area. Fortunately, no villagers were attacked by the elephants."

It is believed that this could be a herd of wild elephants from the Pù Mát National Park. In recent years, this herd has often come to cause trouble, damaging crops and trees belonging to people in the buffer zones of Anh Sơn, Tương Dương, and Thanh Chương districts.

Everyone was exhausted after a sleepless night chasing away the elephants. Photo: Thai Hien

To ensure the safety of both residents and elephants, Anh Son district has directed the Phuc Son authorities and relevant units to regularly patrol and promptly detect the appearance of elephant herds in residential areas; coordinate with residents to implement measures to drive the elephants away... and erect warning signs in areas where elephants appear; absolutely no tools or weapons should be used to attack, directly conflict with, or endanger and provoke the elephants.

Thai Hien