Malaysia: Bull elephant captured, waiting to be translocated to forest reserve

Kristy Inus New Straits Times 20 Jul 18;

BELURAN: A bull elephant was successfully captured at Kampung Ulu Muanad here by wildlife rangers yesterday after two weeks of tracking, and is now waiting to be translocated to a forest reserve.

There were still three other elephants remaining in the area which Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) hoped to capture and translocate as soon as possible to reduce human-elephant conflict there, said SWD officer and spokesperson Siti Nurain Ampuan Acheh.

The Sandakan Wildlife Department office at present has been working closely with the community there, as well as non-governmental organisation (NGO) the Forest Trust and IJM Plantation management since November 2015, when the human-elephant conflict become an issue.

In a statement here, Siti Nurain said the conflict had resulted in damage of about RM200,000 a year.

“The Forest Trust and IJM Plantation then formed a team of youths from Kg Ulu Muanad to assist the Wildlife Department to mitigate the conflict.

“Training and workshop were conducted to prepare the team to assist in mitigating the conflict.

“The full cooperation of the whole team has eased the situation of human-elephant conflict in Ulu Muanad, and Sabah Wildlife Department wishes to thank those involved in the process and hoped for their continuous support,” she added.


Bull from pygmy elephant herd first to be relocated
The Star 21 Jul 18;

KOTA KINABALU: A bull Borneo pygmy elephant which was part of a herd in conflict with villagers in east coast Beluran district for about three years has been captured with the help of wildlife rangers and local villagers.

After nearly two weeks of tracking the movements of the elephants at Kg Ulu Muanad, they managed to capture the bull on Thursday, said Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Augustine Tuuga.

It is now waiting to be translocated to an area far away from Ulu Maunad, Tuuga said without disclosing the location.

The department was still tracking three more remaining elephants to capture and translocate them as soon as possible and put an end to the prolonged conflict, he added.

The elephants have been blamed for losses of up to RM200,000 a year in crop damage among others.

To address the issue, the Sandakan Wildlife Office has been working closely with the local community, The Forest Trust and IJM Plantation in Ulu Muanad since the start of the conflict.

Wildlife conservationists here are concerned about the spike in death rates of elephants in the wild with some 16 found dead since April this year.

The cause of deaths have yet to be ascertained as post-mortems provided no conclusive evidence for wildlife rangers on the case.

Most recently, an elephant was killed by a hunter’s snare.


Elephant from herd in conflict with Sabah villagers for past three years captured
muguntan vanar The Star 20 Jul 18;

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.