2 endangered Sumatran elephants found dead in western Indonesia, believed shot by poachers

In this Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014 photo, an activist inspects one of two dead Sumatran elephants allegedly snared and killed by poachers for their tusks, in Tebo district of Jambi province on Sumatra island, Indonesia. The head of the Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum, Krismanko Padang, said carcasses the two male elephants were discovered early this week near a palm oil plantation. Their skulls were found without tusks, Krismanko said late Wednesday. He added that police who are investigating discovered some bullet shells near the scene. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

JAMBI, Indonesia – Two endangered Sumatran elephants were found dead in western Indonesia and authorities believe they were killed by poachers.

Krismanko Padang, head of nongovernment group of Indonesia Elephant Conservation Forum, said carcasses of the two male elephants were discovered early this week near a palm oil plantation in the Tebo district of Jambi province on Sumatra island.

Their skulls were found without tusks, Krismanko said late Wednesday. He added that police who are investigating discovered some bullet shells near the scene. He urged the police to thoroughly investigate to find the perpetrators or their masterminds.

He quoted villagers as saying a group of about 30 elephants had been wandering around the region in recent weeks.

In September, three elephants were found poisoned in Aceh in northern Sumatra.

Fewer than 3,000 Sumatran elephants are left in the wild. Environmentalists say they could be extinct within three decades unless they are protected.