Wild elephants destroy farm products in Dong Nai

The elephants often attacked areas that did not have electric fences.

Local residents said that the elephants appeared between 5pm and 3am. As many as 65 households suffered losses caused by the elephants over the past five months. One house was destroyed whereas a number of mango and banana trees were damaged.

Son said that local authorities warned residents not to sleep in their fields and come back home before it got dark. They were also advised to use lights or loudspeakers to drive the elephants away.

The Dong Nai Province People’s Committee is considering setting up a 20km electric fence system in the area.

A 50km electric fence was set up in July last year and helped prevent elephants from coming into the area.


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Dong Nai farmers lose crops due to wild elephants

Farmers in the southern province of Dong Nai are complaining about their crops being damaged by a large herd of hungry wild elephants.

According to forest rangers in Dinh Quan District, a herd of between 12-15 wild elephants made some 7-8 visits to 28 farms between February and March this year and destroyed everything there, despite the efforts of local farmers to chase them away.

A local farmer, Nguyen Van Khoi, said wild elephants ate up over 400 banana trees which are valued at VND40 million (USD1.764) in just one night on March 10.

“My bananas were all nearly ripe and we had expected a large crop but then we lost everything in a single night,” Khoi said.


Another farmer, Ngo Quang Truong complained about dozens of 10-year-old cashew trees together with many farming tools being destroyed by the elephants.

Farmer Do Van Dinh suffered the biggest losses with a three-hectare farm with 1,500 banana trees, 300 black pepper trees, among others totally destroyed when the hungry wild animals came out of the forest to seek for food.

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Starving elephants go on rampage

Lack of food has caused wild elephants in Nghe An Province to trample through a number of villages recently.

Nghe An is one of three provinces with the largest population of wild elephants in Vietnam. Still, the species is on the brink of extinction, with only about 17 elephants in the province.

In 2011, a small herd of elephants killed a villager in Luc Da Commune when the man tried to chase them away. In 2013, the elephants destroyed crops in Phuc Son Commune and killed a villager who crossed their path. In March six elephants were foraging in Cao Veu 3 Village and destroyed 10ha of sugarcane and other crops.

Local people said more and more elephants have stampeded because forestland is decreasing, causing food shortages.

Nguyen Huu Minh, chairman of Phuc Son Commune People’s Committee said, “We have transferred 4,000 ha of forestland to a company for a rubber plantation. This area had bamboo and banana trees, which provide food of the elephants. Without a food source, the elephants are beginning to come into villages.”

The elephants are also threatened by poachers. There are now three herds living in Nghe An Province. According to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources’ reports on elephants in Pu Mat National Park, since 1995 at least nine elephants were shot or killed by dynamite.

The people of Phuc Son used dynamite to kill three elephants when they stampede the village in 1996. A few years later, two elephants were found dead without their tusks. Another elephant was killed for its tusks in 2011. The director of Pu Mat National Park said the elephants are still reproducing, but without proper protection mature elephants will continue to be killed.

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Elephants destroy crops in Vietnam

In certain parts of Vietnam farmers are having to deal with a peculiar pest, much larger than the usual a farmer has to deal with. According to the Quick-reaction Task Force in the Phu Ly commune of Vinh Cuu district, from January to April 2016, wild elephants entered residential quarters 69 times and caused 71 cases of crop damage.

They damaged 4.7 hectares of cassava, 2.1 hectares of sugarcane and 22 tons of fruits. Hoang Thi Thuy from Phu Ly commune complained that elephants ‘visited’ her house several times. They not only ate mango, but damaged 20 10-year-old trees that had brought a stable income.

Thuy said that each mango tree produces 100 kilos of fruit. With the average price of VND5,000 per kilo, Thuy can earn VND500,000 each crop. As such, Thuy loses about VND10 million a year, the main source of income of her family.

In 2008-2013, the people’s committees of Vinh Cuu and Dinh Quan districts had to spend VND12 billion to support people in the areas attacked by elephants.

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