Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Ratanakkiri rangers help farmers ward off elephant threat in plantations

Ratanakkiri rangers help farmers ward off elephant threat in plantations

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Wild elephants came in two herds and destroyed crops and 22 plantation huts in the three communes on December 30. FN

Ratanakkiri rangers help farmers ward off elephant threat in plantations

Rangers from the Ratanakkiri provincial Department of Environment and O’Yadav district Unity Command joined forces on January 4 to teach farmers from Bakham, Paknhai and Yatung communes how to protect their plantations from the threat of wild elephants.

O’Yadav district deputy governor Sim Lin told The Post on January 4 that 15 wild elephants, including two ferocious males, came in two herds and destroyed crops and 22 plantation huts in the three communes on December 30.

“According to the farmers, the elephants appeared, destroyed the crops at night and went down the streams in the next day heading back into the forest,” Lin said.

He said the plantation owners were very angry with the elephants, but they did not use force on them to avoid breaking the law.

Provincial environment department director Phon Khemrin told The Post on January 3 that the plantations used to be the habitat of wild elephants as they were rich with their food.

The area has valleys and streams they can drink from and play with water. But people have occupied the land, formed small villages on it and plant crops. This has led to conflicts between the villagers and the elephants.

“We are teaching the villagers about peaceful ways to chase out the elephants. It will ensure villagers do not respond violently to the wild animals that could lead to danger and actions that violate the law,” said Khemrin.

He said the villagers were asked to patrol the plantations more frequently day and night, and to create noise by hitting plastic tanks or bamboos to drive the elephants away.

Yatung commune police chief Sen Voeun told The Post that the people, police and rangers are working together to help villagers monitor and chase the elephants away from plantations and villages.

The plan is to drive the wild elephants across to the other side of the Trang stream, which has a large dense forest.

“We cannot catch or shoot the elephants, but we cannot let them destroy the plantations either. So the tips given by expert officials are very useful,” he said.

Currently, Cambodia has about 400 to 600 Asian wild elephants living in Mondulkiri and Ratanakkiri provinces, as well as the Cardamom mountains and other sanctuaries.

MOST VIEWED

  • Wing Bank opens new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004

    Wing Bank celebrates first anniversary as commercial bank with launch of brand-new branch. One year since officially launching with a commercial banking licence, Wing Bank on March 14 launched a new branch in front of Orkide The Royal along Street 2004. The launch was presided over by

  • Girl from Stung Meanchey dump now college grad living in Australia

    After finishing her foundational studies at Trinity College and earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne in 2022, Ron Sophy, a girl who once lived at the Stung Meanchey garbage dump and scavenged for things to sell, is now working at a private

  • Ministry using ChatGPT AI to ‘ease workload’; Khmer version planned

    The Digital Government Committee is planning to make a Khmer language version of popular artificial intelligence (AI) technology ChatGPT available to the public in the near future, following extensive testing. On March 9, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications revealed that it has been using the

  • Rare plant fetches high prices from Thai, Chinese

    Many types of plants found in Cambodia are used as traditional herbs to treat various diseases, such as giloy or guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) or aromatic/sand ginger (Kaempferia galangal) or rough cocklebur (Xanthium Strumartium). There is also a plant called coral, which is rarely grown

  • Cambodia returns 15M Covid jabs to China

    Prime Minister Hun Sen said Cambodia will return 15 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to China for donation to other countries. The vaccines in question were ordered but had not yet arrived in Cambodia. While presiding over the Ministry of Health’s annual meeting held on

  • Wat Phnom hornbills attract tourists, locals

    Thanks to the arrival of a friendly flock of great hornbills, Hour Rithy, a former aviculturist – or raiser of birds – in Kratie province turned Phnom Penh tuk tuk driver, has seen a partial return to his former profession. He has become something of a guide