115 jumbos killed to date

Kota Kinabalu: Some 115 Bornean elephants have been killed between 2010 and this year, and most of these deaths occurred in palm oil plantations or forest reserves in close vicinity to plantations.

Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Assafal Alian said half of these deaths were caused by suspected poisoning or gunshot wounds.

"Despite this, there is no concrete evidence that plantations are to be blamed," he said during the opening of the 1st Sabah Scientific Community Forum, here, recently.

"Paradoxically, neither are they blameless. To address this escalating elephant mortality, as a last resort the State Government is strongly contemplating implementing a strict liability policy in which landowners including plantations will be held accountable for any elephant deaths.

"As elephants and other wildlife species increasingly use the palm oil landscape, there is an urgent and critical need for serious dialogue and engagement with the palm oil industry to better manage human-wildlife conflicts."

He said, a win-win solution must be drawn for wildlife conservation, possibly supported and assisted by the Malaysian palm oil industry and Sabah's wildlife scientific community.

"The State Government is very keen to look for solution and explore opportunities where both wildlife and the palm oil industry can co-exist harmoniously.

"So many questions need to be answered. Answers that must be based on scientific facts.

"Much scientific research has been done and is still being undertaken by a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and scientists based in Sabah," he said.

Unfortunately, he said, these results and best practices formulated by all these researches sometimes are not transmitted well to the policy makers and to the palm oil industry, and therefore not incorporated into land use policy planning and, palm oil management practices which could have better benefited wildlife as a whole.

"Sometimes the scientific community do express conflicting views, further confusing wildlife and palm oil managers on what would be the right thing to do."

Towards this end, he said, the 1st Sabah Scientific Community Forum is timely as it brought together Sabah's scientific community together with some of their counterparts from West Malaysia to come up with clear, workable consensual messages about key questions that are usually asked by the palm oil industry and government policy makers.

"The State Government is prepared to be the bridge that links the scientific community and the industry and foster a stronger collaboration between both parties," he said.

The Sabah Scientific Community Forum was co-organised by Sabah Wildlife Department, Danau Girang Field Centre, Hutan, Project Seratu Aatai and WWF-Malaysia and funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

During the forum, participants designed a series of recommendations to mitigate possible results of human-wildlife competition in non-protected forests and agricultural landscape.

The underlying message was to create mosaic landscapes where forests are still found within agricultural lands.

In places where the forest has been completely destroyed, efforts to recreate contiguous corridors of natural forest of at least 50 metres wide along all rivers is needed, as well as setting aside stepping stones or continuous corridors across the landscape to support animals' dispersal.

Results of the brainstorming session will be presented and discussed during an international symposium to be organised here, in early next year, that will gather government officials, agro-based plantation industries and scientists. - Ricardo Unto

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Sabah CM orders all-out effort to stop ‘disturbing’ elephant deaths

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 30 — Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal has ordered fresh initiatives to put an end to the unprecedented number of elephant deaths in the state recently.

Pointing out that he was “shocked and stunned” by the deaths, Shafie said action should include “all-out effort” by the relevant agencies to engage locals in human-elephant conflict zones and educate them on tackling wildlife intrusion with conservation in mind.

“I am indeed disturbed by the sudden spike in Bornean elephant deaths in Sabah,” he said in a statement.

“I have ordered two state ministers — Tourism, Culture, Environment Minister Christina Liew Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Junz Wong — to hold special meetings with plantation owners in known elephant habitats so they can engage their workers to help with the fight against poaching and killing in their areas,” he said.

Shafie also called for cooperation from plantation workers and owners to remove snare traps found on their land.

“The plantation workers have shown that they are responsible when they have reported unusual activities like stray baby elephants or snared elephants. As people who are constantly on the ground, they would be the most effective in rooting out these criminal elements that seek to gain from illegal activities,” he said.

Shafie also called for the Sabah Wildlife Department to make their hotline number available to those living in human-elephant conflict zones to enable quicker action to stop possible conflicts.

He added he was aware of the need to form wildlife corridors to link fragmented forests and said he hoped non-governmental organisations could help fast-track this effort with the state government’s facilitation.

The state is currently under global conservationists’ radar following the reported death of 25 rare Borneo pygmy elephants this year alone.

Four elephants were found dead last weekend, including a mother and calf on plantation land, with two of them with gunshot wounds.

The causes of death for all 25 range from gunshot injuries to wounds, toxic substances and “unknown diseases”.

Shafie said that although he understood the plight of farmers and planters, who have to protect their crops on their land, they had “no right to kill these assets of ours.”

“Elephants in Sabah are totally protected by the law. It is a crime to hurt or kill them. Enforcement agencies cannot cover the ground that is needed to expose these criminal elements in our society,” he said, adding that he hopes Sabahans will serve as the eyes and ears for the protection of elephants.

“The human-wildlife conflict cannot be an excuse to kill, snare or poison these animals that are fully protected under the law as the state government wants to ensure that these animals are conserved so we and future generations can continue to enjoy Bornean elephants in the wild.”

The chief minister said Sabah’s wildlife, including the elephants, orangutans and proboscis monkeys, were part of the state’s rich heritage and an important tourism revenue earner with huge economic spin-offs for rural Sabah.

“Sadly, the wildlife, in particular the Bornean pygmy elephant, is dwindling at a rapid pace if the deaths this year alone are an indication of things to come,” he said, adding that the mere 1,500 to 2,500 elephants left in the wild could be extinct in a few decades.

“This effort to conserve cannot be left in the hands of the government and NGOs, the people –farmers, villagers, and plantation owners and their workers — have to cooperate in the fight against the problem with wildlife poaching.”

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https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/08/30/landowners-made-liable-for-elephant-deaths-in-sabah/

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is making landowners responsible for deaths of wildlife, especially elephants, on their properties.

Effective immediately, Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew said the state government will implement a strict liability policy in which landowners will be deemed responsible for the deaths.

She said the rule will also apply to all forest reserves and concessions belonging to Sabah government, such as Sabah Foundation timber concessions as well as smallholders.

She ordered all plantation owners and landowners where wildlife roam to remove all snare traps from their lands immediately or face the consequences.

“We have no choice now but to do this. Some people think that because elephants died on government land, then no action will be taken.

“But from now on, this is not so. This human-elephant conflict has been going on long enough and now it is getting worse.

“It leaves us little choice but to put our foot down,” she said.

Yesterday, the Sabah Wildlife Department reported that 25 elephants have died since January this year, the highest number of deaths it has recorded so far.

The latest was the death of a female elephant in Tongod on Saturday. Wildlife officers believe a baby elephant was also killed at the scene but the carcass was taken away for some reason.

Liew said the Sabah government had decided to hire a foreign expert on elephant protection and conservation to assist the state in solving the increasing problem of elephant deaths.

She said the foreign expert, from Oregon Zoo in the United States, would be part of an advisory council to help ensure better protection of wildlife and manage human-wildlife conflict.

“Once that is done, we will set up a special unit to act on the advice of the council. It is hoped this council will be able to tell us what exactly is the problem that has caused our elephants to die,” she said.

Liew, who is also the state tourism, culture and environment minister, said she had a meeting with the ministry’s permanent secretary and they have decided to invoke Section 33 of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment.

Under Section 33 of the enactment, any person who commits an offence listed under the law shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine of between RM20,000 and RM100,000 or to imprisonment for a term between six months and five years, or to both.

Under the clause, the director of the Sabah Wildlife Department is given the power to prosecute those found guilty of killing or possessing wildlife without licence.

“We are desperate now because even though we have put up RM120,000 for information and witnesses, nobody has taken up the offer.

“These senseless killings must stop,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shafie Apdal said all the relevant agencies must work together with people living in conflict zones and educate them in tackling problems of elephant intrusion in villages, farms and plantations.

He said he had ordered two state ministers, Liew and Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Junz Wong, to hold meetings with plantation owners in known elephant habitats.

He said these owners or managements must engage their workers to get them to help in the fight against poaching and killings in their areas.

“The plantation workers have shown they are responsible as they have reported unusual activities like stray baby elephants or snared elephants.

“Plantation owners and farmers should also make the effort to remove snare traps placed in their areas by poachers.”

He said elephants in Sabah are totally protected by the law and it is a crime to hurt or kill them.

He urged the people of Sabah to be vigilant and lend their eyes and ears to protect the elephants.

Shafie said although he understands the plight of farmers and planters as they have to protect their land against wildlife foraging in their farms, they had no right to kill them.

“I am aware of the need for forest corridors to link fragmented forests in the east coast of Sabah. I hope we can fast-track this with the help of NGOs.

“I am told that there are only 1,500 to 2,500 elephants left in the wild and they could go extinct in a few decades.”

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Baby elephant rescued from Tawau palm oil plantation

KOTA KINABALU, July 11 — Wildlife authorities have rescued an elephant calf, among the youngest they have come across, in a human-elephant conflict area in Tawau.

The young male jumbo, estimated to be less than a year old, was wandering alone at about 3pm yesterday when it was found by plantation workers in the Brumas oil palm area, who alerted their managers and called the authorities to rescue the animal.

Witnesses said that the animal was weak and seemed tired, but it was not aggressive when a team from the Sabah Wildlife Department came to take it away.

The elephant calf is currently under the care of wildlife rangers at the department’s Tawau base.

“The elephant found is very small and young, probably a few months and definitely less than a year. It will need a lot of attention and care if it is to survive,” said the source.

It has yet to be decided where the elephant calf will be kept, as it cannot be returned to the wild with an unfamiliar herd.

An elephant calf found alone is usually not a good sign for the species, indicating that its herd is either dead or faced some conflict that caused the calf to end up alone.

The Brumas area where the calf was found has experienced elephant encounters before, including an attack by a rogue bull elephant two years ago.

Oil palm plantations in the area also regularly report the presence of elephants despite a wildlife corridor that sometimes pose a danger to the crops and occasionally, the residents.

The east coast and interior of Sabah has seen an increase of human-wildlife conflict due to the rapid pace of development and land clearing.

In between 2013 and 2016, 15 orphaned baby elephants were found on their own in Tawau, Lahad Datu, Telupid, Kinabatangan and Sandakan — areas known as a hotbed of human-elephant conflicts. 

The Sabah Wildlife Department is currently under scrutiny following reports of an ill-managed Lok Kawi Wildlife Park where rehabilitated animals are kept, including 16 elephants.

The recent death of two of its captive elephants — a 15-year-old and a three-year-old calf — raised concerns about the department’s capability of looking after Sabah’s endangered animals.

Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Christina Liew said there was no conclusive cause of death except that the animals were sick and “not expected to live long”.

Sabah’s endemic elephant population has been dwindling. There are an estimated 1,500 Borneo Pygmy elephants left in the wild.

This year alone, 16 deaths were reported to authorities, with six of those in the last two months.

Liew said that post-mortem reports showed that they had died of an unknown disease, with no discernible external wounds.

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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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Sabah now looking at long-term elephant conflict solution

The six-week elephant invasion in one of Sabah’s interior districts has compelled state authorities to look into long-term solutions that can prevent such human-wildlife conflicts in the future.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the conflict has become a major cause of concern that has to be addressed in the long term.

“I have asked the director of wildlife to give a briefing this week. We recognise the fact that it’s a real problem and we are going to discuss the options available to us,” he said.

A herd of about 20 elephants caused damage to crops and human property in some 10 villages around the Telupid district, while others have reportedly casually strolled through school grounds and wandered into the district police station.

The Sabah Wildlife Department and Wildlife Rescue Unit have been on a 24-hour watch trying to ensure that the animals do not come into close contact with humans.

Wildlife Rescue Unit acting manager Diana Ramirez said that they have so far captured six elephants as of now that are meant for relocation in a wildlife reserve.

“I think the fact that all these incidents that happened in the last one week or month should make us think hard about the options that are available to us, not only to solve it now, but for the long term,” said Masidi.

“All of us the stakeholders need to sit down and work out the solutions. We can’t forever be doing things on an ad hoc basis,” he said, adding that the authorities will meet later this week to discuss the matter before bringing in the stakeholders.

Another challenge is the high cost of translocation at RM20,000 to RM30,000 per elephant.

Elephant and human conflict has been on the rise in recent years as Sabah’s vast forests have been converted into agricultural land or opened up to development.

Biologists predicted the increase in such conflict but little has been done to create wildlife corridors for elephants and other animals which are used to roaming freely over large areas without restriction.

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