Male elephant carcass found in rubber forest in Nghe An

On the evening of October 7, the authorities completed the scene examination and investigation into the cause of death of a wild elephant about 20 years old. This elephant was discovered dead under a rubber forest in Hanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong district).

"The elephant's body was discovered this morning, but because the scene was deep in the forest and the weather was unfavorable, it was very difficult to get around. The autopsy was not completed until late in the evening," said a forest ranger present at the scene.

According to the reporter's investigation, this is one of two mature male elephants, belonging to the Cao Veu elephant herd, which usually lives in the forests of Pu Mat National Park and neighboring areas. According to Pu Mat National Park's estimate, this herd has 8 elephants. This is also the only herd of elephants in Nghe An that still has the potential to develop because it has male elephants.

Recently, possibly due to a conflict with the remaining male elephant in the herd, this elephant has separated from the herd, moved and lived alone in the forests of Hanh Lam and Thanh Duc communes (Thanh Chuong district). Meanwhile, its herd still lives in the forests near Cao Veu villages (Phuc Son and Anh Son communes).

At the scene, the elephant’s belly was decomposed. The tusks of this male elephant, about 35 cm long, were still intact. Around the area, trees were downed, a sign that the elephant struggled before dying.

According to the locals, this herd of elephants used to be quite large and rarely had any conflicts with humans. However, in 2011, the leader of the herd, the male elephant, was killed for its tusks. Since then, the herd of elephants has become angry and frequently returns to residential areas to cause trouble and find food. In a short time, two people were trampled to death by elephants and many others were injured.

In recent years, a group of wild elephant protectors has been established. These people, in addition to their duty of alerting villagers when elephants appear, also regularly carry salt deep into the forest to feed the elephants, with the aim of limiting wild elephants from returning to the villages.

This is the second wild elephant in Nghe An to die since the beginning of the year. Previously, in mid-February, people discovered the body of an old elephant in the forest of Chau Phong commune, Quy Chau district. This was the mother elephant, in a herd of only two elephants left in this district. Before dying, this elephant often returned to the village, visiting dozens of houses to look for food, looking weak and sluggish.

According to statistics from Pu Mat National Park, Nghe An has about 13 to 15 wild elephants, the locality with the third largest number of wild elephants in the country (after Dak Lak and Dong Nai provinces). Of these, 11 to 13 live in the Pu Mat National Park area. The remaining 3, including 1 female elephant, live alone in the area of ​​2 communes Nam Son, Bac Son of Quy Hop district and 1 baby elephant in Chau Phong commune. Although there are still many natural elephant herds, most of the elephant herds in Nghe An are single elephant herds, no longer able to develop. Many elephants have lived alone for decades, often returning to residential areas to destroy crops and conflict with humans. If there are no measures to merge with other herds, these elephant herds will gradually be eliminated over time./.