Poison-laced pineapples blamed in death of rare Sumatran elephant in Indonesia

October 1st, 2009 UN: Indonesia death toll rises to 1,100UNITED NATIONS — The U.N.'s humanitarian chief said Thursday the powerful earthquakes that struck Indonesia have killed at least 1,100 people. John Holmes said the latest figures "suggest the death toll has risen already to 1,100" and that there are "many hundreds of injured people as well" because of Wednesday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake, which originated in the sea off Sumatra island.

September 17th, 2009 KAZIRANGA - Forest authorities in India's northeastern state of Assam have intensified patrol at a famed national park as there are fears that poacher gangs might try and kill animals by poisoning the grass instead of gunning down the wildlife. A forest department spokesperson said an alert was sounded at the Kaziranga National Park after they found at least half-a-dozen cattle dead reportedly after grazing on poisoned grass in the fringes of the sanctuary.

September 6th, 2009 Endangered Sumatran rhino dies at Cincinnati ZooCINCINNATI — An endangered Sumatran rhino has died at the Cincinnati Zoo, a setback to a program that successfully produced the first calves born in captivity in more than a century. Emi, a 21-year-old Sumatran rhino that had been at the zoo for 14 years, died Saturday after appearing less energetic for several weeks, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden announced Sunday.

September 3rd, 2009 Montana girl admits trying to poison dad's Jell-OLIVINGSTON, Mont. — A 15-year-old Montana girl has admitted trying to poison her father using Jell-O laced with lamp oil.

September 1st, 2009 PATNA - An elephant Wednesday trampled a young man to death in a village in Saran district of Bihar, police said. Madan Thakur, in his 20s, was killed by the elephant near Chamrahiya village in Saran.

August 23rd, 2009 Rare tiger killed, body stolen from Indonesian zooJAKARTA, Indonesia — A group of thieves killed an endangered tiger in an Indonesian zoo and stole most of its body, zoo officials said Sunday, a theft police suspect was motivated by the animal's valuable fur and bones. The remains of the female Sumatran tiger were found by staff Saturday at the Taman Rimba Zoo in Jambi province on Sumatra island, said zoo director Adrianis, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

August 15th, 2009 KOLKATA - An adult female elephant was killed after getting entangled in electified fencing at an army cantonment in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district late Friday night, a forest department official said Saturday. "An elephant was electrocuted when it entered an army cantonment near Binnaguri forest area and got entangled in electrified fencing.

July 1st, 2009 Enraged elephant stomps 3 Thai workers to deathBANGKOK — A rampaging elephant stomped three rubber tappers to death in southern Thailand on Wednesday after it was left to wander freely by its handler, police said. The 38-year-old domesticated elephant is believed to have attacked the workers in three separate plantations in Trang province before it was recaptured.

June 24th, 2009 Conservationist: 15 rare Sumatran elephants killedJAKARTA, Indonesia — At least 15 endangered Sumatran elephants have been shot or poisoned to death with cyanide-laced fruit this year in Indonesia, marking a sharp rise over the previous year, a government conservationist said Wednesday. The giant mammals were mostly killed by poachers for their ivory, said Tony Suhartono, the director of biodiversity conservation at the Forest Ministry.

June 23rd, 2009 Indonesian elephant fossil opens window to pastBANDUNG, Indonesia — Indonesian scientists are reconstructing the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics, a finding that may offer new clues into the largely mysterious origins of its modern Asian cousin. The prehistoric elephant is believed to have been submerged in quicksand shortly after dying on a riverbed in Java around 200,000 years ago.

June 11th, 2009 LONDON - An almost 200,000-year-old elephant skeleton from a terrace adjacent to the Solo River in East Java, Indonesia has been excavated recently. The discovery was made by a team from the Geological Survey Institute (GSI) and the University of Wollongong (UOW).

June 4th, 2009 Official: 4 rare elephants poisoned in IndonesiaPEKANBARU, Indonesia — Four rare Sumatran elephants were found dead in northwestern Indonesia near an oil palm plantation and are believed to have been poisoned by villagers, a conservationist said Thursday. The carcasses of the protected giant animals were in a forest 560 miles (900 kilometers) from the capital, Jakarta, said Eddy Santoso, head of the local Conservation and Natural Resources Agency.

June 4th, 2009 Iowa student gives classmates rat poison; all OKDAVENPORT, Iowa — An elementary school student in Davenport, Iowa, gave rat poison to seven classmates, but a district official says no one was sickened. District spokeswoman Laura Bozarth says second- and third-graders at Monroe Elementary School ingested a small amount of pellets before school Tuesday.

June 4th, 2009 Official: 3 rare elephants poisoned in IndonesiaPEKANBARU, Indonesia — Three rare Sumatran elephants were found dead in northwestern Indonesia near an oil palm plantation and are believed to have been poisoned by villagers, a conservationist said Thursday. The carcasses of the protected giant animals were in a forest 560 miles (900 kilometers) from the capital, Jakarta, said Eddy Santoso, head of the local Conservation and Natural Resources Agency.

May 9th, 2009 2 rare elephants found dead in Indonesian junglePEKANBARU, Indonesia — Two rare Sumatran elephants believed to have been poisoned with cyanide-laced pineapples were found dead in the jungles of northwestern Indonesia with their tusks removed, a conservationist said. The giant males aged 16 and 23 were discovered Thursday near Pekanbaru, Sumatra, about 560 miles (900 kilometers) from the capital, Jakarta, said Muslino, a spokesman for the Conservation and Natural Resources Agency.