Jakarta. Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Aceh, has filed a police report following the death of a female Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), with preliminary findings pointing to electrocution at a plantation in Karang Ampar village, Ketol district, Central Aceh.

“The elephant’s death has been followed up by filing a police report with the Central Aceh Police. The case is currently under investigation,” BKSDA Aceh head Ujang Wisnu Barata said in Banda Aceh on Wednesday.

BKSDA Aceh previously received a report from residents about a dead elephant found at a plantation in Karang Ampar village on Saturday. Acting on the report, a joint team from BKSDA, Karang Ampar Police Sector, and partners went to the site.

At the location, Ujang said officers found a female elephant estimated to be 20 years old. The protected wild animal was believed to have died a day earlier.

“When it was found, the elephant’s trunk was attached to a high-voltage electric wire that was still carrying electricity. Officers and police personnel immediately secured the location,” Ujang Wisnu Barata said.

A medical team from BKSDA, together with personnel from the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of Aceh Police, the Criminal Investigation Unit of Central Aceh Police, Karang Ampar Police Sector, and partners, conducted a crime scene investigation and necropsy.

The necropsy found burn wounds on the elephant’s trunk. The initial diagnosis indicated the elephant died from an electric current. The medical team collected samples of vital organs to strengthen the diagnosis.

“After the necropsy process, the elephant carcass was buried near the site. We remind the public that installing high-voltage electric wires is risky, not only endangering wildlife but also putting human lives at risk,” Ujang said.

The Sumatran elephant is a protected species. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the elephant, found only on the island of Sumatra,  is classified as critically endangered, facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Authorities urged the public to preserve nature, particularly wild elephants, by refraining from damaging forests that serve as wildlife habitats, and from capturing, injuring, or killing them.

The public is also prohibited from storing, possessing, keeping, transporting, or trading protected animals, whether alive or dead, and from setting snares or poison that could cause death. “All negative acts against protected wildlife can be subject to criminal sanctions in accordance with prevailing laws and regulations,” he said.