ORDER PROBOSCIDEA: PROBOSCIDEANS 315 



many as, say 10 years ago. There are some on Lepan, Besitang, 

 and Namoe Oengas. Elephants are shifting from one place to an- 

 other, and then come back to the starting point again." (J. Gourin. 

 in Hit., August 7, 1933.) 



The following account is given by Heynsius-Viruly and Van 

 Heurn (1936, pp. 48-50) : 



Very detailed reports on the elephant were received from many districts. 

 While some believe they will be exterminated within the next twenty-five 

 years, others think that they are holding their own as there are yet about 

 2000 elephants in Southern Sumatra alone. This estimate is, however, called 

 in doubt by competent observers. In the subdivision Ogan Oeloe there were at 

 the most about 45 elephants in 1926. There is much difference of opinion 

 about the damage these animals do. In Rokan they have increased so rapidly 

 that they have become a nuisance; nevertheless they are not hunted much. 



A report from Soengi Radja relates that in 1929 a herd of 14 head was 

 discovered; efforts are being made to preserve them. Elephants were also 

 seen near Soengi Roka in May 1932. In Siak their number is estimated as 

 still quite large, likewise in Indragiri, although they do not appear there 

 in the swampy coastal districts. In the lowlands they are found only in 

 Reteh, and the largest herds in South Seberida in the Boekit Tiga Pdeloeh. 

 In the first-named district a reward of twenty-five Dutch guilders is offered 

 for every elephant tail. The controler of the district, which comprises the 

 middle course of the Siak River, paid twenty-eight such premiums in 1930. 

 A correspondent estimates that about 200 elephants roam over Siak and 

 urges the repeal of the old local regulation concerning the premiums, as 

 well as not extending the permits for the fire-arms kept in the kampongs. 



In Djambi, Moeara Tambesi and Moeara Tebo they are fairly common; 

 also even now, in South west Bangko, where the controler estimates they 

 will be extinct within 10 years. They are very rare in Moeara Boengo. In 

 Djambi they are estimated at about 250-350. 



There is a herd of about 30 in Korintjih, and seven in the Ophir district 

 (July 1932) viz: one young male, and six females. In 1915 this same group 

 numbered still 18. In 1916 the herd of North Korintjih were hunted by men 

 specially appointed for the purpose by the Demang of Korintjih and the 

 Civil Authority of Air Hadji. Not even the females and the young were 

 spared at that time. Along the Mesoedjih River elephants are caught in 

 pitfalls by the Natives and the younger ones are sold in Palembang. The 

 older ones are left to starve, in order to obtain the tusks to sell. It is generally 

 thought that the present regulations merely postpone the extermination of 

 the elephant. Only establishing extensive reserves might bring adequate 

 protection. . . . 



The report of a herd of 14 in Soengi Radja is of much interest, for these 

 animals occupy a rather small area that has been completely surrounded by 

 cultivation for a quarter of a century, and though much hunted they have 

 succeeded in holding their own. The establishing 1 of a reserve here was urged 

 in 1929. In 1932, the Netherlands Committee for International Nature Pro- 

 tection requested this from the Government of the Netherlands Indies, but 

 as yet no actual steps have been taken. 



A second important fact, emphasized by our enquiries, is that at certain 

 seasons elephants migrate periodically from the mountains to the lower 

 coastal areas. This too had been exhaustively recorded in print. It was one 

 of the strongest arguments used by the Netherlands Committee, when sub- 



