BANDA ACEH: A critically endangered elephant has been found dead in a palm oil plantation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in what is suspected to be a deliberate poisoning, an official said Friday.
The 10-year-old female Sumatran elephant was found in Jambo Reuhat village in North Aceh on Thursday — the third of its species to be found dead of suspected poisoning in the same palm plantation since 2015.
“We found fruits and a pouch with traces of powder inside the animal,” Aceh conservation center head Sapto Aji Prabowo told AFP.
“We suspect the death was caused by deliberate poisoning because her liver and spleen turned dark, a classic sign of poison,” he added.
A group of veterinarians was deployed to the location after authorities were tipped off by locals.
Officials estimated the animal had been dead for three days when the carcass was discovered.
Sumatran elephants are a critically endangered species. Rampant deforestation to create plantations has reduced their natural habitat and brought them into conflict with humans.
At least 11 wild elephants died in Aceh last year, most of them killed by humans.
Earlier in June a tame Sumatran elephant was found dead from apparent poisoning in East Aceh district with its tusks missing.
Officials found the remains of fruits laced with poison inside the animal during the autopsy.
The environment ministry estimates only around 500 Sumatran elephant remain in Aceh.
Sumatran elephant ‘poisoned’ in Indonesia palm plantation
Sumatran elephant ‘poisoned’ in Indonesia palm plantation
Trunk snapped off famed Bernini statue in Rome square
ROME, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A marble elephant designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini has been damaged, with its left tusk found snapped off and lying at the base of the monument in the heart of Rome, authorities said.
The damage was uncovered on Monday night and police said they would review video footage from Piazza della Minerva to determine whether the tusk was vandalised or simply fell off following weeks of unusually heavy rains.
Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli made clear he thought it was deliberate, saying the 17th statue, which supports an ancient Egyptian obelisk, was victim of an "absurd act of barbarity".
"It is unacceptable that once again the nation's artistic and cultural heritage must suffer such serious damage," he said in a statement.
It is not the first time the sculpture, popularly known as the Elefantino (little elephant), has been damaged.
In November 2016, the tip of the same tusk was similarly found broken off. The piece was reattached during restoration work.
The sculpture, created in 1667 by Ercole Ferrata based on a design by Bernini, stands a short distance from the Pantheon, one of most visited tourist sites in Rome. (Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Crispian Balmer)
