A herd of wild elephants damaged houses and devoured crops as they rampaged through an Indonesian village, terrifying residents, officials said Wednesday.
The elephants charged villagers and ran amok on Tuesday night in the latest incident of animal-human conflict in Indonesia, where the jungles that serve as wildlife habitats are being rapidly destroyed.
"Seventeen wild elephants entered Bangkeh village last night. They damaged three houses and ate the crops which were stored in those houses," said Abubakar Chek Mat, chief of Aceh province's conservation agency.
Officials responded by using five tame elephants to chase out the invaders.
"The elephants come to villages because people have entered the forests and are ruining their habitats," Mat said.
"What we have to do is not just move the elephants out of the villages, but move the people out of the forests."
Two women were killed in January when wild elephants attacked villagers in the same area of Aceh, which is on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
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