Cambodian thieves poison elephant

The associated press
3, 26, 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.

Hor Ang, the province's deputy police chief, said the tusks could fetch up to $3,000 each in the illegal ivory trade.

Elephants are the main means of transport for hilltribes people in northeastern Cambodia.

Conservationists have said that the end of years of armed conflict in Cambodia has allowed the elephant population and other wildlife to make a comeback in Cambodian jungles.