Pesticides were present in the stomachs of six of the seven elephants that were found dead last year in the southern province of Dong Nai, authorities reported.
Pesticides were present in the stomachs of six of the seven elephants that were found dead last year in the southern province of Dong Nai, authorities reported.
The provincial police said poisoning might cause the death of five of them.
The latest and seventh death, of a three-year-old elephant near the edge of the Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve, is still under investigation.
Speaking at a meeting with Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve authorities on Tuesday, deputy director of the Dong Nai police, Nguyen Phi Hung, said the possibility of intentional poisoning should be considered.
"The deaths of elephants and a rare Javan rhino and threats to other rare animals and forest creatures are critical issues for Dong Nai Province," he said.
The expanding human population and agriculture needs have created a serious conflict between humans and elephants in the province.
Local residents could be poisoning the animals due to their anger at the animals raids on crops and local residents, Tran Van Mui, director of the Vinh Cuu Natural Reserve, said.
If drastic measures are not taken, more of the 13 remaining elephants would be killed, he warned.
The elephants live in an area of 33,600ha straddling the Vinh Cuu Nature Reserve and Cat Tien National Park.
This area also has more than 46,000 humans, with a majority of them living on agriculture, which affects the elephants habitat, a study has found.
Much of the elephants habitat has been converted into farmlands, forcing them to graze on crops.
Elephant experts said it is impossible to move the herd to another forest because they require such a large area which cannot be found anywhere else.
On the other hand, moving a large number of farmers from the area is also impracticable, they said.
The best way to protect the endangered herd was protecting their habitats, they added.
The study found that the animals first started to destroy crops in 2007 in the provinces Phu Ly Commune where the loss were estimatedly worth more than VND470 million (US$24,700) by 2009.
Another commune, Ma Da, reported a total of 44 raids last year, three times of the 2008 figure.
(Source: VNS)
