Malaysia: Rogue male wild elephant caught

The Star 27 Dec 11;

KOTA BARU: The Kelantan Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) caught a rogue male wild elephant about 500m from the Jeli-Grik main road near the Batu Melintang camp in Jeli.

Its director Rahmat Topani said the elephant, believed to be between 10 and 15 years old and weighing 1.5 tonnes, was among 11 wild elephants caught by the department in Gua Musang, Kuala Krai and Jeli throughout the year.

He said acting on a report received from villagers of Kampung Jerek, Batu Melintang, a team of rangers from the Jeli office started tracking the elephant.

The team headed by Ismail Nordin spotted the elephant at about 9am yesterday and used sedatives to overpower the animal.

“The elephant is believed to have terrorised villagers in Kampung Dendong, Lawar, Belimbing and Kampung Pendok causing damage to their crops,” he said. — Bernama

15-year-old jumbo from rampaging herd caught
Sharifah Masinah Abdullah New Straits Times 27 Dec 11;
Wildlife Department mounts hunt after receiving reports

RANGERS from the state Wildlife Department captured an elephant on Sunday, believed to have been in a herd that destroyed crops in Batu Melintang, Jeli.

The bull elephant, named "Awang Jerek", was caught by rangers from the department's office in Jeli, led by Ismail Nordin, at 3.30pm.

State Wildlife Department director Rahmat Topani said the 15-year-old elephant, weighing about 1.5 tonnes, was the 11th captured by the department this year.

He said Awang Jerek was believed to have destroyed crops in areas such as Kampung Dendong, Kampung Lawar, Kampung Belimbing and Kampung Pendok over the past two years.

"We received reports from villagers that their banana and other fruit trees were destroyed by a herd of elephants.

"Following the reports, we mounted operations to track down the animals and managed to capture one of them."

He said Awang Jerek would be sent to the elephant conservation centre soon.

New home for jumbo
Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 31 Dec 11;

THE Kelantan Wildlife Department has sent the 20-year-old bull elephant, which it captured in Batu Melintang here last Sunday, to a national park in Terengganu.

The elephant, named Awang Jerek, was sent to the national park on Thursday with the help of two tamed elephants -- Che Mek and Lokimala.

Department director Rahmat Topani said the three-hour operation, which started at 9am, involved 18 workers of the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang.

"Like in the previous operations, we had to use Che Mek and Lokimala to escort Awang Jerek to ensure that the translocation process to Terengganu went smoothly," he said.

Rahmat said the department's rangers caught the rogue male elephant, weighing about 1.5 tonnes, about 500m from the Jeli-Grik main road near the Batu Melintang camp.

He said Awang Jerek, which was believed to have destroyed crops in Kampung Dendong, Kampung Lawar and Kampung Belimbing, was the eleventh elephant captured by the department this year.