Elephant killed in fight with herd

KOTA KINABALU: Another elephant has been found dead in the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve in Tawau.

In a statement yesterday, Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) public relations officer Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh said that there is a possibility that the elephant was killed in a fight with an elephant herd.

Its carcass was discovered by an officer of Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd and SWD was informed thereafter, said Siti.

“The next day, a team comprising of an investigating officer, a veterinarian officer and staff from the Sabah Wildlife Department went to the site to investigate and conduct a post-mortem,” she said.

She added that based on the physical condition of the elephant, they believed that it had been dead for more than five days.

“It is a female estimated to be about 12 to 15 year of age with a height of about six feet high,” she said.

She also said that a physical examination of the carcass found no bullet wounds or injuries. Metal detectors were also used, and no metal objects were detected on the body.

However, post-mortem examination found cracks on the temporal part of the elephant’s skull, she said.

The left jugal bone was also disjointed from the main skull; while the frontal and nasal bone were found to have deepened cracks suggesting possible head-on trauma, she said.

“The severe head trauma might have caused neurological damage and severe bleeding in the head which led to the elephant’s death.

There is a high possibility that a fight within the elephant herd was the cause of the death.

Workers working in the area reported seeing about 40 elephants in the surrounding area prior to the discovery of the carcass,” she said.

SWD director Augustine Tuuga, when contacted on the possibility of translocating all the elephants to the lost world in Lahad Datu to stop more elephants from dying, answered that elephant fights do occur and the elephants were already at their natural habitat.

“Where else to move them?” he asked.

He also said that even if the elephants were to be translocated, they would find their way back to their place of origin.

He confirmed that this was the 27th elephant found dead this year.

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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s wildlife scene took another hit when a baby elephant was found dead and another injured by snare trap in two separate incidents, yesterday evening.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew in revealing this today, said the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) had sent their teams to the ground upon receiving the information.

Cause of death for the young elephant, believed to be around two years old, has yet to be ascertained but no physical injuries were evident, added SWD director Augustine Tuuga during a press conference at the sidelines of the state assembly sitting, here.

“For the first case, a report was received of a male elephant suffering injury on the front leg due to a snare trap near Taliwas, Lahad Datu," Augustine said.

He informed that the information was received late in the the evening yesterday and the department's veterinary team was not able to make it there last night.

“But this morning we despatched them and now they should be there to treat the injury.

“We also received information yesterday of a young elephant found floating at Kinabatangan river in Sukau (by a tour boat) and the body has been secured by the riverbank," he said.

A team was sent to conduct a post-mortem, Augustine said, adding that preliminary checks found no visible physical injuries.

Meanwhile, Liew who is Deputy Chief Minister said they will wait for the post-mortem to learn the cause of death and a statement would be issued once there was more information.

On a separate matter during the press conference, Liew said they were confident of meeting the set target of 3.85 million total arrivals into Sabah this year.

This is supported by more charter flights as well as direct international flights coming to Kota Kinabalu, she added.

As of June this year, arrivals were recorded at 1.891 million which was an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister cum State Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Jaujan Sambakong in a separate press conference, said his ministry was currently embarking on a roadshow statewide to address imbalanced development.

He said efforts to streamline development planning would ensure tourism hotspots like Ranau and Kundasang have efficient facilities like organised residential areas and markets.

On another question, he said the level of cleanliness would also be addressed.

“Besides restructuring the development plannings, we want to improve the image of local authorities,” he added.

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No info on those behind jumbo deaths despite reward

TELUPID: Despite the reward of RM120,000, no one has come forth with any information on the culprits who caused the deaths of 25 Borneo pygmy elephants in the state this year.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the reward has been around for the past five years.

“Investigation into the deaths of the 14 elephants in the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve (in 2013) is still not closed.

“We also offered RM20,000 on the killing of the elephant with ‘sabre’ tusks (in 2017) but nobody came forward,” he said.

The bulk of the 25 deaths were discovered in the past four months.

The causes of the deaths ranged from gunshot injuries to wounds incurred from traps set up by hunters and other unknown causes.

Elephants that are injured by trapping devices will develop infections before they die.

WWF Malaysia said that snares are commonly used by poachers along animal trails in forest reserves bordering plantations with the intention of catching wild boars and deer. Though elephants are very rarely the target of poachers, they commonly fall victim to these devices as they use the same trails as other wildlife.

In the latest case, a female elephant was found dead at Ladang Bintang Emas Property Sdn Bhd in Tongod here on Saturday.

SWD public relations officer Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh said the case was reported to the department by the Tongod district forest officer.

“SWD despatched a team of rangers and veterinary officer to investigate and conduct post-mortem on the animal on Monday.

“The carcass was mildly decomposing. It is believed to have died about a week earlier,” she said.

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Female pygmy elephant shot dead in Tongod

KOTA KINABALU: A female Borneo pygmy elephant was shot dead at a plantation in Tongod, recently.

The carcass of the elephant, aged between 12 and 15, was discovered at Ladang Bintang Emas Property Sdn Bhd on Aug 25.

Sabah Wildlife Department public relations officer Siti Nur’ain Ampuan Acheh said today that a team of rangers and veterinary officer were despatched to the site after they were alerted by the Tongod district forestry officer.

“The team investigated and conducted a post-mortem on the elephant on Aug 27,” she said.

“It was estimated that it died about a week earlier.”

Siti said there was a round-shaped wound in the middle of the elephant’s temple area, which had penetrated into its skull.

“The right temporal part of the skull was found to have severe bleeding and debris from the impact, most probably from a gunshot. No bullets were found on the body.

“Death of the elephant is highly probably due to neurological damage caused to the brain.”

Prior to the latest death, four Borneo Pygmy elephants were found dead in Sabah’s east coast.

It was reported that a cow and its calf were shot by poachers. Another elephant died after a tree fell on it, while the fourth was found dead with unknown causes.

A total of 25 elephant deaths have been reported this year. State wildlife director Augustine Tuuga saying all toxicology tests were done locally.

“The results are usually not conclusive (but there is) negative result to most known poisons and also bacteria or viruses,” he said.

On the department’s efforts to catch culprits responsible for killing the elephants, including using poison and snare traps, Tuuga said it would not be easy.

“It’s difficult to detect them and no witnesses have come forward to give information even when we have offer a RM120,000 reward,” he said, stressing that the reward was still on offer.

The RM120,000 reward was first offered five years ago to facilitate the department’s investigations into the deaths of 14 elephants in the Gunung Rara forest reserve.

Tuuga said the department had also offered RM20,000 for information on the killing of a sabre elephant, adding that nobody had come forward.

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Malaysia: Villager trampled to death by wild elephant in Kedah

ALOR SETAR: A wild elephant is believed to have trampled a villager to death near a forest reserve in Padang Sanai near here on Friday afternoon (Sept 7).

The incident occurred at about 4pm but the exact location is still unconfirmed.

The body of the man, whose ethnicity is unknown, was found by his relatives who rushed him to Kuala Nerang Hospital, some 50km from Alor Setar, where he was pronounced dead.

His family members lodged a police report at the Padang Terap district police headquarters.

It is believed that human encroachment into the forest reserve by illegal plantation had provoked the elephants roaming within.

A police source confirmed the report.

Wild jumbos spotted where man was trampled to death g.c. tan The Star 9 Sep 18;

ALOR SETAR: At least three wild elephants were seen roaming the forest reserve in Padang Sanai, where a rubber tapper was trampled to death.

However, only one animal was involved in the death of Mat Juhid Osman (pic), 49, who died at the scene about 50km from here.

The victim’s brother Husin Osman, 53, they were about leave their fruit orchard when the elephant suddenly dashed out and attacked them.

“I managed to hide behind a tree, but my brother was a little late and was trampled by the elephant, the size of a Pajero four-wheel drive.

He said the incident happened at about 6.30pm on Friday, when he and his brother were tending to fruit trees in their orchard, about 5km from their house in Kampung Ulu, Padang Sanai.

Husin said they had planted some fruit tree saplings earlier in the morning and left for Friday prayers before returning to the orchard at about 3pm.

He said he had lodged numerous reports in the past about wild elephants in the area with the state Wildlife Depart­ment.

“But the officers merely came to see and left. Now, I have lost my brother,” he said.

Padang Terap district police chief Deputy Supt Noh Idris said the hospital alerted the police after the brother of the deceased sent him to the Kuala Nerang Hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

“The deceased sustained head injuries and fractured one of his hand.

“His body will be sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar for post-mortem,” he said.

There have been wild elephant sightings at the Padang Sanai forest reserve near Ahning Dam in the Padang Terap district recently.

Villagers had lodged reports with the Wildlife Department.

It is believed that human encroachment could have provoked the elephants there.

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Man dies after elephant attack in Malaysia

ALOR SETAR, Kedah: A man died on Friday afternoon (Sep 7) after he was believed to have been stepped on by an elephant while walking home with his brother in Malaysia’s Kedah state.

Padang Terap district police chief Noh Idris said Mat Juhid Osman, 49, and his brother were returning home from an orchard near the Padang Terap district when they were believed to have been “suddenly” attacked by the elephant at about 6.30pm.

The victim sustained injuries on the head and broke his arm in the attack, and was taken to Kuala Nerang Hospital by his brother. The doctor at the hospital later confirmed the victim’s death, Noh said in a statement on Saturday.

The police chief said the victim’s body has been sent to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah for a post-mortem.

The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN) has been contacted to track down the elephant and determine whether it is still in the surrounding areas, he added.

A PERHILITAN spokesman said that it was possible that the elephant had escaped deep into the
jungle.

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Juvenile elephant shot dead in Tongod

TONGOD: An elephant was found dead with a gunshot wound at Kampung Karamuak here.

This brings the number of elephants killed in Sabah to 10 this year.

A team of wildlife rangers from Kinabatangan Wildlife Office stumbled upon the carcass of the juvenile male elephant by the roadside at Kampung Karamuak here about 7.40am on July 23.

Sabah Wildlife Department public relations officer Siti Nur’Ain Ampuan Acheh said the wildlife rangers were returning home from carrying out elephant controls at Kampung Karamuak.

“The juvenile male elephant is about three to four years old,” she said in a statement yesterday.

She added that a team was sent yesterday to investigate and conduct a post-mortem to determine the cause of death.

The post-mortem team found a wound at the right rump of the elephant, she said, adding a pellet was inside the abdomen.

“Some parts of the intestines were torn. There was a severe internal bleeding inside the abdomen suggesting several blood vessels were damaged.

“The cause of death is determined to be hypovolemic shock due to severe internal bleeding caused by the pellet,” Siti Nur’Ain explained.

“From the position of the injury and the trajectory of the pellet, it is highly probable that the elephant was shot either from a close range from an elevated place or from the back of a vehicle.”

Siti Nur’Ain said according to information gathered during investigation, a herd of elephants had been in Kampungg Karamuak for the last one month.

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Sabah records third elephant death in eight days

SANDAKAN, July 24 — A third elephant has been found killed in Sabah within a span of eight days, and this time, the pachyderm was found shot dead at Kampung Karamuak, Tongod in Kinabatangan.

Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) Public Relations Officer Siti Nur’Ain Ampuan Acheh said a team of wildlife rangers from the Kinabatangan wildlife office stumbled upon the carcass at the road side at 7.40am yesterday while they were returning from elephant control work at Kampung Karamuak,

She said the male juvenile elephant was estimated to be between three to four years old and that a team was dispatched to the scene to investigate , including to carry out a post mortem to determine the cause of death.

A wound at the right rump of the elephant was found and this was then traced to the discovery of a pellet inside the abdomen, said Siti Nur’Ain in a statement today.

She said some parts of the intestines were torn and that there was severe internal bleeding inside the abdomen, suggesting several blood vessels were damaged.

She said the cause of death was determined to be hypovolemic shock due to severe internal bleeding caused by the pellet.

“From the position of the injury and the trajectory of the pellet, it is highly probable that the elephant was shot from close range from an elevated place or from the back of a vehicle,” she added.

Siti Nur’Ain said according to information gathered, a herd of elephants had been seen in Kampung Karamuak for the past one month.

She said the department would continue to probe the case and find those involved in the killing.

On July 19, a male elephant was found dead near an abandoned logging camp in Kuamut Forest Reserve in Kinabatangan, believed to be due to a fight with a larger elephant, leading to a severe crack on the left skull.

Prior to that, a male elephant with a badly wounded foot was found dead on July 16 in an oil palm plantation at Ulu Segama in Lahad Datu, believed to be the victim of a snare trap.

Elephants in Sabah are a Totally Protected species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. — Bernama

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Elephant from herd in conflict with Sabahy/n villagers for past three years captured

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife officers have captured a bull Borneo pygmy elephant, part of a herd that has been in conflict with villagers in east coast Beluran district for about three years.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Augustine Tuuga said its officers and some villagers had been tracking the movements of the elephants at Kg Ulu Muanad for two weeks and finally managed to capture one on Thursday (July 19).

He said that they would be moving the animal far away from Ulu Maunad, but did not disclosed where.

Tuuga said that they were still tracking three more elephants, and hoped to capture and translocate them as soon as possible.

He said the Sandakan Wildlife Office worked closely with the Ulu Muanad community, NGO The Forest Trust as well as IJM plantation and formed a team of village youth to handle to situation.

Wildlife conservationists are growing concern over a sudden spike in deaths of elephants with some 16 found dead since April this year.

The cause of the animals' deaths have yet to be ascertained as post-mortem examinations on the carcasses provided no conclusive evidence for wildlife rangers investigating the cases.

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Disease killed 6 pygmy elephants in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: The six pygmy elephants found dead between April and May this year died due to disease, said Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew.

Liew, who is also the state tourism, culture and environment minister, said a post-mortem conducted on the carcasses of the elephants did not find any sign of foul play as suspected before.

“There were no gunshot wounds on the elephants and it was concluded they died because of disease,” she said in her winding-up speech at the state assembly today.

However, Liew did not say what kind of disease killed the endangered pygmy elephants.

Earlier, Liew announced her ministry would establish a wildlife protection council to be a platform where wildlife experts could engage with each other to ensure better protection of wildlife and to manage human-wildlife conflicts.

The council, she said, will advise the government on inter-department and inter-agency issues which affect the conservation of wildlife.

These issues include wildlife habitat enrichment in forest reserves, habitat restoration outside protected areas and establishment of wildlife corridors outside protected areas.

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Jumbo deaths raise welfare alarm

KOTA KINABALU: Drastic steps are expected to be taken at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park where two endangered Borneo pygmy elephants died within two months.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew will be at the wildlife park today on a fact-finding visit in which she is expected to make some tough decisions on the management and upkeep of the park, sources said.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga confirmed a report in The Star Online that two elephants died there on May 7 and June 27.

An adolescent male elephant rescued 13 years ago from Lahad Datu’s Yapid plantation died on June 27 while a four-year-old calf died on May 7.

Wildlife officials had kept a lid on the deaths amid calls by activists for improvements at the wildlife park that acts as a rescue and rehabilitation centre for the animals.

Sources said that wildlife veterinarians were puzzled over the deaths of the two elephants.

So far, post-mortem reports have not given any clue about the cause of the deaths.

It is understood that the calf, which was born in captivity, had been sick.

The deaths in captivity, sources said, was worrying.

Earlier this month, Friends of Orang Utan director Upreshpal Singh raised concerns about the upkeep of animals at the Lok Kawi Zoo but the Sabah Wildlife Department dismissed allegations that the animals were kept under poor conditions.

Tuuga said this was the second time that such an accusation had surfaced, adding that the animals were “well looked after”.

Liew made a surprise visit two weeks ago following the complaints.

However, she said then that all was good at the park.

At least seven elephants in the wild have also died of unknown causes in April and May in various parts of Sabah’s east coast.

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No gunshot wounds found on dead elephant

KOTA KINABALU: The cause of death of an elephant found floating in the Kinabatangan River last weekened is not yet known.

However, following an autopsy that was done yesterday, Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said no gunshot wounds were found on the elephant, believed to be about three years old.

"A post-mortem was completed at 2pm (yesterday). But no wounds were found on its body and the elephant did not die from gunshot, infact no bullets were found in the elephant's body.

"We are still unable to ascertain the cause of death for now and we have taken samples of its internal organs for further analysis," he said when contacted.

When asked if the elephant could have been poisoned, Augustine said they would have to wait for results from the analysis.

Last week, a photo of the dead elephant, believed to have been found at a river near the Danau Girang Research Centre in Kinabatangan, along with two voicenotes went viral on WhatsApp.

Sabah Wildlife Department then confirmed they received a report on the discovery and sent in a team which included a veterinarian to the scene.


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Injured elephant captured in Sabah oil palm plantation dies

Sabah Wildlife Director Augustine Tuuga said the elephant, estimated to be six or seven years of age, had shown signs of injury when it was captured by the Wildlife Department’s Rescue Unit.

He said the elephant was reported to have been aggressive towards plantation workers and villagers in surrounding areas, which led to its capture on Nov 24 at Desa Plantation, and was then taken to Borneo Elephant Sanctuary.

“While undergoing medical examination and treatment, its tongue was found to have serious wound, believed to have been caused by a gunshot.

“The wound on the tongue made the elephant unable to eat or drink,” he said in a statement here tonight.

Tuuga said a post mortem conducted on the elephant found a bullet lodged in the injured front left leg and there were also gunshot marks on the body, but did not penetrate or caused any internal organ injury.

“Dehydration is believed to be the cause of death because the elephant was unable to drink due to the injury on its tongue,” he said.

Tuuga said the Sabah Wildlife Department would be investigating the case as it involved the death of a totally protected species.

“While the Sabah Wildlife Department fully understand the problem faced by the people associated with elephant in their environment, we would really appreciate cooperation from all concerned by contacting the department’s nearest office for assistance to mitigate disturbance and property loss,” he said. — Bernama

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Elephant dies after being hit by tour bus in Malaysia

Some two months after an elephant calf was run over and killed, another pachyderm, this time, a 10-year-old bull, died after it was struck by a bus on the same stretch of the Gerik-Jeli Highway in Malaysia.

This is despite the many signboards put up to warn motorists about elephants and other wildlife crossing in the area.

The elephant was killed after it was hit by the tour bus early yesterday, as it was crossing at Kilometre 59 in Gerik.

Pictures of the carcass at the scene and the bus with its cracked windscreen and damaged front end were widely shared on social media, angering many animal lovers and conservationists.

Some asked how the driver had failed to spot such a large animal.

Gerik OCPD Supt Ismail Che Isa said the bus was driven by a 62-year-old man and that the incident occurred about 5km from the Titiwangsa rest stop.

"The bus was going down a slope and heading towards Gerik when the elephant suddenly came out of the forest. The driver told us he could not brake in time," he said.

He said the elephant fell over on impact and then got up and walked to the left side of the highway. It sat there for awhile and then died.

Supt Ismail said the elephant suffered lacerations on its head and back.

"The bus driver and his 33 passengers were not injured," he said, adding that the Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has been informed of the incident.

In June, a two-year-old elephant was crossing the highway and was killed when a car collided with it.

State Perhilitan director Loo Kean Seong said the area is an elephant habitat and that the animals are always roaming, no matter the time of day.

"So motorists must be careful and drive cautiously along that stretch. Please also do not speed," he said.

The carcass will be sent for a post-mortem and its tusks will be removed before burial.

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