Translated from French by an automated online translation service, so please excuse the roughness. See link for original. Thank you to Anne Dillon for finding the article and doing the online translating.
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The repeated attacks herds of elephants sow fear among the inhabitants of several villages in the region of Grand Lahou and Fresco (south), said villagers on Sunday. To believe them, these fierce animals probably out Dassioko Classified Forest, located in the area, find themselves at times on the way villagers who leave their farm work. The pachyderms attack not only plants, but also humans.
Several planters and left temporarily their plantations to avoid ending up nose-to-nose with aggressive animals. “This is the desolation in the coastal villagers who lost their seed production in this period,” Lambert told Krou, head of an NGO local. For forest authorities, human action is the basis of these repeated attacks buffalo and elephants. “We are witnessing a destruction of the natural habitat of these animals are also threatened by poachers. Elephants and buffaloes having lost their habitat, they go out of the park and are a danger to the population,” said a forest police officer.
The elephant is the symbol of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and is one of protected species in the country.