Inp.polri.go.id - Banda Aceh. Gunawan Alza, the Head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), has announced the deployment of a team to investigate the death of an elephant in Sungai Mas, West Aceh. "We've dispatched a team, which includes a veterinarian, to conduct the investigation, and they set out for the site yesterday afternoon," Gunawan said on Wednesday (20/12/2021). On Tuesday, local residents discovered the lifeless body of a five-year-old female Sumatran elephant on the banks of the Krueng Lancong River in Sungai Mas Regency, West Aceh. The elephant was found lying on the riverbank, indicating that it had been dead for some time. Gunawan acknowledged that the precise time of the protected animal's death remains uncertain, awaiting a report from the team that visited the site. BKSDA records reveal a rise in negative interactions between humans and Sumatran elephants, with 583 incidents recorded over the past five years. From January to October 2023 alone, 85 incidents were documented. (mg/inp/pr/nm)