6 pygmy elephants found dead in Sabah in recent weeks

KUALA LUMPUR: Six Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in oil palm plantations in Sabah in recent weeks, officials said Monday, the latest of the endangered creatures to perish as their rainforest habitat is devastated.

The carcasses of the elephants, aged between one and 37, were discovered at different locations in Sabah, local Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga told AFP.

“We are currently conducting tests on their internal organs,” he said, adding the carcasses did not have any signs of gunshot wounds.


Tuuga said the elephants could have accidentally consumed fertiliser in the palm oil plantations, which could have poisoned them.

The Star newspaper, citing conservationists, said the creatures might have drunk from poisoned watering holes.

There are about 2,000 pygmy elephants, the smallest type of elephants in Asia, in the wild. Late last year, three were killed by poachers.

In 2013, 14 pygmy elephants were found dead in Sabah and were thought to have been poisoned.

They are threatened by widespread logging of their natural habitat to make way for lucrative oil palm plantations, and are targeted by poachers as their ivory fetches a high price on the black market.

The pygmy elephants are baby-faced with oversized ears, plump bellies and tails so long they sometimes drag on the ground as they walk.


Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/05/21/6-pygmy-elephants-found-dead-in-sabah-in-recent-weeks/

NGO demands release of Lasah, the Langkawi elephant

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian NGO Friends of the Orangutans Malaysia (Foto) is up in arms over what it claims is continued abuse of an Asian elephant used for tourism purposes on the popular holiday island of Langkawi.

Foto initiated a campaign in July last year to urge the ministry of natural resources and environment (NRE) to relocate Lasah to the Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary after photos of the 36-year-old elephant, chained on all four legs, were exposed.

“We were shocked to see images of Lasah shackled on all fours and later found out about his tragic past and present fate. It seems to us he has been wrung for financial profit for over 25 years by different individuals,” said Foto director Upreshpal Singh.

The NGO says Lasah has been used in zoos, a logging camp and the entertainment industry, was transferred to Langkawi island in 2006 and is today used by Langkawi Elephant Adventures (LEA) for rides and other activities. He is the only elephant in Langkawi. Lasah also appeared in the 1999 film Anna and the King featuring stars Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fatt.

In a report by a local news outlet, LEA director Serene Lau Xiao Woon refuted claims that the park was abusing Lasah and said the elephant was chained to help him recover from wounds on the face and legs.

To read the full article, click on the story title