THE carcass of a bull elephant lay in the forest of Kareung village, in West Aceh, two weeks ago. Mukhtaruddin, a forest caretaker, immediately identified the pachyderm by name: Yinphiek. Its skull had been cracked open, and its trunk was gone. "Its tusks were also gone," he told Tempo.

Mukhtar last encountered Yinphiek about two months ago. The 3-ton, 20-year-old elephant was in good health then. For years, the lone elephant with long tusks had p