Malaysia: Rogue elephant caught, hunt for 8 more goes on

New Straits Times 18 Feb 12;

KOTA BARU: A bull elephant which led a herd of pachyderms in a series of rampages resulting in the destruction of farm crops in several villages in Gua Musang has finally been captured.

The elephant named "Awang Serian", leading a herd of eight, had been causing havoc the last few months. It also caused the villagers to live in fear.

Rangers from the state wildlife department captured Awang after they spotted the pachyderm roaming in Kampung Serian about 11.15am.

The department's director, Rahmat Topani, said the elephant, weighing about four tonnes, was caught by rangers after they waited for the pachyderm to emerge from the jungle.

"The team began their operation (to capture) from Feb 14 onwards after receiving reports that a herd of nine elephants had entered several farms belonging to local villagers, destroying their crops.

"They had been waiting for the elephants since then, but Awang only emerged today (Feb 16)."

He said besides Kampung Serian, the herd had also destroyed crops in Kampung Kasturi 2 and Kampung Bukit Mior.

He said Awang was estimated to be between 35 and 40 years old, and was the first elephant to be captured by the department this year.

Rahmat said the department would continue to track down and capture the remaining eight elephants that were believed to be hiding in the nearby jungles.