Endangered elephant in Cambodia electrocuted by power pole

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A park ranger in Cambodia says an endangered wild elephant has died after an electrical pole fell and electrocuted the animal.

Nup Thet, a ranger at Wildlife Alliance, said the 3-ton elephant was electrocuted late Tuesday in the jungle near Cardamom National Park.

Cambodia is home to some 450 wild elephants. Suwanna Gauntlet, chief executive officer of Wildlife Alliance, said about 200 of them live in Cardamom National Park.

Last July, a wild baby elephant died in northeastern Mondulkiri province after becoming snared in a poacher's trap in the jungle. The death raised a red flag for many conservation groups concerned with the ability of local authorities to protect the endangered species.

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Elephant Dies Of Heatstroke After Ferrying Tourists At Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, Prompts Global Outcry

Tens of thousands of people around the world are calling for an end to elephant-riding in Cambodia after one of the animals collapsed and died while ferrying tourists at the iconic Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap.

The Asian elephant, a female named Sambo, had reportedly walked for more than 40 minutes in 104-degree heat before her sudden death.

“Veterinarians concluded that the elephant’s death was caused by the hot temperatures which caused stress, shock, high blood pressure and a heart attack,” Oan Kiri, manager of Angkor Elephant Company, told AFP.

A Facebook user named Yem Senok shared photographs of the dead elephant last week:

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Ivory Worth Millions Uncovered After Bust

Customs officials continued on Monday to slowly unpack a haul of hollowed-out logs from Africa crammed with endangered animal parts, initially revealing more than 140 ivory tusks and pieces of ivory valued at millions of dollars.

John Guiry, CEO of Royal Railways, the line that carried the freight to Phnom Penh, said he saw the tusks of nearly two dozen elephants on Monday in just the first 20 centimeters of wood that officials cut away.

“When you see it yourself, it really hits you on the head,” Guiry said. “I saw 22 dead elephants on Monday—you know, there are two tusks per elephant—in 8 or 9 inches of wood.”

With an average weight of 30 kg per elephant tusk, the ivory uncovered so far would be worth nearly $9 million at Chinese ivory prices reported earlier this year in The Guardian.

Some 20 officials—military police, U.S. Embassy staff, Forestry Administration officials and members of the NGO Wildlife Alliance —arrived at the Phnom Penh dry port on Monday to watch the process and guard the haul.

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Twycross Zoo elephant dies after health battle

One of Twycross Zoo's star elephants has died.

Tonzi, the Asian elephant, was originally rescued from a timber logging camp in Burma, and arrived at Twycross Zoo in 1991.

Sadly staff at the East Midlands attraction have announced they made the decision to put the mammal to sleep following a battle with arthritis - a disease causing painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.


A spokesman for the zoo, said: "Tonzi had severe arthritis, and despite intensive veterinary care, her condition was continuing to deteriorate, impacting her quality of life and health.

"All possible methods of treatment were thoroughly considered by the Zoo's staff before the final difficult decision was made to euthanase Tonzi.

"She will be deeply missed by her keepers and the Zoo's staff."


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Killer Elephant Finds Home at Foundation

An elephant that killed its owner in September in Mondolkiri province has been sold to a foundation in neighboring Ratanakkiri province, the organization said on Wednesday.

“Nobody wanted a killer elephant. They said the killer elephant would kill again,” said Pierre-Yves Clais, the vice president of Airavata Elephant Foundation.

His foundation agreed to buy the elephant, named Bak Mai, for $17,000 early last month from 15 families, he said, though the full amount is yet to be paid.

The plan was to walk with the 32-year-old male elephant through the jungle to the foundation’s headquarters near O’Katieng waterfall in Ratanakkiri, about 170 km away, he explained.

Mr. Clais could not say when the journey would start, but said that he expected it would take longer than a week, during which time the mahouts and elephant would sleep in the jungle.

Once at the foundation, Bak Mai would be left alone in the protected forest to be rehabilitated, he said.

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Suspects in Elephant's Death Arrested

Associated Press

March 25, 2008

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Two Cambodian men have been arrested for allegedly poisoning an elephant and sawing off its tusks to sell on the black market, officials said Wednesday.

The male elephant, which was chained to a tree by its owner in Rattanakiri province, about 200 miles northeast of the capital Phnom Penh, was found dead in March 2007.

Police at the time said the alleged killers had doused jack fruit, a tropical fruit eaten by elephants, with rat poison.

The tusks of the 62-year-old elephant, measuring almost 3 feet each, had been removed.

The two suspects, Men Rattana, 42, and Klem Sam Ouen, 27, were arrested this week, almost a year after the animal's killing, said Hor Ang, the provincial deputy police chief.

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Elephant's Tusks Stolen for Black Market

The Associated Press

March 27, 2007

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thieves in Cambodia poisoned a 62-year-old domesticated elephant and sawed off its tusks to sell on the black market, officials said Tuesday.

The male elephant was found dead Saturday, where its owner had left the animal chained to a tree near his home in Rattanakiri province, said Lee Sam Ol, a district police chief.

Police found several empty packs of poison commonly used to kill rats near the dead elephant. They believe the thieves had doused jack fruit, a tropical fruit eaten by elephants, with the poison, Lee Sam Ol said.

The elephant's tusks, measuring nearly 3 feet long each, had been removed, he said.

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