PIDIE JAYA, Indonesia — A group of specialist Sumatran elephants have joined recovery operations in Aceh following the catastrophic landfall of Cyclone Senyar in late November — two decades after the veteran responders supported rescuers after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. “They’re guided by mahouts who know very well the characteristics of the elephants,” said Ujang Wisnu Barata, head of the Aceh conservation agency, the BKSDA. Rescuers in Indonesia’s westernmost region seconded the experienced squad of four to clear heavy debris in the coastal district of Pidie Jaya in semiautonomous Aceh, as recovery operations continued for a third week across much of the north and west of Sumatra Island. Many affected villages remain cut off due to extensive debris and landslides. Cyclone Senyar arrived over northern Sumatra in the early hours of Nov. 26 with 3-hour precipitation accumulation exceeding 130 millimeters (5 inches), meteorology data showed, which is more rain in three hours than the U.K. usually receives through its wettest month of the year. The number of people killed here in Pidie Jaya district stood at 29 on Dec. 18, with the total death toll rising to 1,059 people across three provinces (Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra) amid the worst disaster to hit Indonesia in years. Male elephants Abu, Ajis and Midok, working together with Noni, a female Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus), received the assignment in Pidie Jaya district from their base at the Saree Elephant Training Center, which is located in nearby Aceh Besar district. A…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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