Read all about it!  Man versus Elephant!   When you have finished reading, click =CONTINUE=>.

Every living thing has needs. These needs include food, water, air, shelter and space. What happens when living things are fighting for these needs? That question is what many living on the island of Sumatra are facing.

On the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, are found many types of plants and animals. One animal is the giant Asian elephant. These two to five ton animals can be destructive. The elephants are herbivores. These giants can eat up to 300 pounds of vegetation in less than a day. Now that’s a lot of food! All that eating can hurt the island. But elephants can also help because once they digest that food, they have to poop! Their poop is called dung. They drop dung all over the island. Sounds smelly to me! Inside the dung are seeds. These seeds help replant the forest. That’s good!

Humans also live on the island. Humans aren’t as big as elephants but they can be destructive too. Man has cut down over half of the island’s forest for timber and farming. Instead of replanting trees and plants like the elephant does, man plants palm, corn, and coffee. These are crops that provide things you use in your home every day. These crops provide food and money for people to live. That’s good for humans, but bad for the elephants.

Man and elephants have trouble sharing space. Man builds his farms in the elephant’s habitat. Elephants wander onto the farmland. They eat up all the crops. They can eat up a family’s food for a whole year. These elephants tear down buildings. What would you do if an elephant ate all of your food? What if it knocked down your house? It’s no surprise these men and elephants fight.

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