Elephant rampages continue in Dong Nai
According to the locals in Hamlet 5 and 7 in Thanh Son Commune, Dong Nai Province, eight elephants have caused a lot of damage. They have to rush home from the fields early in the afternoon, fearing that they may encounter the wild elephant herd somewhere.
Previously, the elephants only went out at 10 pm to 11 pm and returned to the forest from 4 am to 5 am. But they have got more used to the surroundings and have visited the villages more often.
Luu Van Huy in Hamlet 7 said he was really worried because his banana garden which costs hundreds of millions of VND had been destroyed by the elephants on June 25 and 26. He lost 2,000 banana trees and 40 durian trees.
On June 17, the elephants destroyed 14 mango trees and 20 metres of pipelines at Nguyen Thuy Linh's garden. Linh said she lost about 500kg of mango. Then on June 27, the elephants continued to damage Duong Hoang Tien’s kitchen and ate 90 kg of rice. Phan Van Ut and Nguyen Thi Anh said the elephants destroyed 120 metres of their fence mesh and 95 metres of fence respectively.
According to Dinh Quan District Forest Protection Unit, from June 11 to June 30, the elephants ventured to the villages eight times and destroyed the crops of 14 households. Nguyen Van Chieu, deputy head of Dinh Quan Forest Protection Unit, said, "In late 2019, Dinh Quan authorities supported the farmers in Thanh Son Commune nearly VND800m for the damage."
After 50 km of the electric fence was put up in Vinh Cuu District and Dinh Quan District, the elephant herd couldn't get into this area anymore so then travelled a bit further to the Hamlet 5 and 7 in Thanh Son Commune.
"This area doesn't have an electric fence yet. Dong Nai authorities are planning to build a 20 km electric fence to separate the residential area with Cat Tien Forest. The project is supposed to start in 2021," Chieu said.
On May 31, the residents in Binh Phuoc Province also reported elephant rampages for the first time. A group of six elephants travelled from Dong Nai Province Cultural and Natural Reserve to Ma Da River and then to Cluster 363 in Tan Loi Commune, Binh Phuoc Province. The elephants destroyed the 600 square metres of corn owned by two households and ate 30 kg of rice before returning to the forest.
Dong Phu District Forest Protection Unit has warned the local people about the rampage to avoid conflict between the elephants and farmers. Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have also asked the authorities in Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc to issue directives on how to avoid the elephants and protect the crops.