The death of an eight-year-old girl in Riau province after being trampled by a wild elephant has reignited concern over Indonesia’s worsening human-wildlife conflict, with conservationists warning that shrinking habitats are pushing animals into increasingly dangerous contact with people.
The girl, identified only as Citra, died last Saturday following three days in a coma after suffering severe head injuries in the October 30 incident. She had been fleeing with her family from their wooden home near a cornfield in West Rumbai district when a wild elephant – one of a herd of 10 – charged and struck her, fracturing her skull.
Zulhusni Syukri, director of the Rimba Satwa Foundation, which fits GPS collars on wild elephants in the province, said the tragedy was a stark reminder of the long-standing trauma elephants in Riau were suffering at human hands.
“These kinds of incidents stem from the trauma that elephants have faced in Riau for decades as a result of human intervention, including being driven away from villages, caught in traps and scared away by fireworks,” he said.
“This trauma has caused a change in elephant behaviour and made them more aggressive.”
Syukri explained that the adage “an elephant never forgets” contained a kernel of truth – elephants have been known to return to places of past conflict and attack people they associate with earlier trauma, using their powerful sense of smell to recognise them.