Elephant injured by snare trap dies

KOTA KINABALU: A five-year-old male juvenile elephant which was rescued at Ulu Segama Forest Reseve, Lahad Datu on August 28 after it was reported to have been injured by a snare trap on its left front leg, passed away yesterday.

Sabah Wildlife Department public relations officer Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh yesterday said a veterinarian and wildlife rangers were dispatched to the location to rescue the injured elephant.

“They managed to capture the elephant and initiated treatment. It was found to have suffered a severe and deep wound which already reached to the bone. The elephant also had a very poor body condition and weak,” she said in a statement yesterday.

Further treatment was supposed to be done at the Bornean Elephant Sanctuary in Kinabatangan. Unfortunately it did not respond well to the treatment and died while being transported to the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary at 8.40am yesterday.

A post-mortem was conducted to determine the cause of death and findings revealed that the elephant died due to septicemia which originated from the severe snare trap injury, she added.

The number of elephants killed by snare traps has increased in Sabah, raising the concern of the state government and WWF-Malaysia.

Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew on Saturday advised all owners to remove animal snare traps on their lands and plantations in Sabah.

She said snare traps were one of the main reasons behind deaths of elephants, which suffered up to weeks before succumbing to injuries caused by them.

Liew, who also Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, stressed this should be done straight away with an immediate invocation of Section 33 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, announced on August 30.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Mohd Shafie Hj Apdal has alsoordered fresh initiatives to stop the Bornean elephant deaths.

He said these initiatives should include an all-out effort by all the relevant agencies to work together with people living in human-elephant conflict zones by way of educating them in tackling problems of elephant intrusion in villages, farms and plantations.

Sabah Wildlife director Augustine Tuuga has revealed that 25 Borneo pygmy elephants were found dead this year, either shot or snared in traps in jungles and plantations in the state.

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