Elephant conservation news 24 October - 30 October
A herd of wild elephants has been accused of leaving three families homeless and of gorging on crops in two Indonesian villages.
The group, thought to number 17 animals, damaged three homes in the village of Bangkeh, in Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra.
Officials responded by using five tame elephants to chase out the wild animals.
Local community chief M Sabi said that the elephants had been "rampaging" through the village for a week, adding that Bangkeh and neighbouring Gampong Pulo had been terrorised by the animals for two months with no action by authorities.
"Local residents are now forced to try to drive the elephants away by their own means and methods such as bamboo cannon," Sabi said.
However, Abubakar Chek Mat, chief of the province's conservation agency, said: "The elephants come to villages because people have entered the forests and are ruining their habitats.
"What we have to do is not just move the elephants out of the villages, but move the people out of the forests."
'Massive' Sri Lankan elephant conservation drive
The Sri Lankan Wildlife Department has launched a conservation programme to protect the 6,000 elephants living in the country's forested areas.
According to the Sri Lanka Sunday Observer, the department will be tracking the movements of wild elephants where they move near to human settlements - most of the 225 deaths recorded in the country during 2008 were attributed to human-elephant conflict.
Deputy director of the conservation program, W.S.K. Pathiratna, told the paper that elephants were deliberately killed through shootings and "death traps", but that they also died in accidents with trains and electric fences.
He added that while large numbers of elephants living in areas affected by the country's 26-year-long civil war had died in the past, the situation for the animals had "drastically changed" with the end of hostilities.
Bangkok elephant abuse crackdown
Three men allegedly caught begging with an elephant in Bangkok are to face charges, as the Thai capital toughens up on abuse of the animals.
The men were apprehended on Tuesday, and their two elephants taken to the Kanchanaburi elephant camp.
Deputy governor Theerachon Manomaipiboon said that from 6 November the city would be toughening its stance on animal abuse, and would be offering a 2,000 baht (£36) reward for information leading to the arrest of beggars with elephants.
