Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 22 Oct 18;
KOTA KINABALU: No one has come forward to furnish details on the killing of elephants in Sabah although RM120,000 reward was offered.
Sabah Wildlife Department offered the lucrative incentive in August following the death of more than 20 elephants in the state.
The department director Augustine Tuuga said the public either truly had no idea about the killings or were afraid to come forward to assist in investigations.
To date, the department had reported 27 elephant deaths either due to fighting, disease, injuries related to snare traps, poisoning or gunshots.
“All the while, our team has been searching for individuals responsible for the killings but to no avail.
“It is difficult to prosecute without witnesses and evidence,” he said when contacted.
Augustine said on a district-level, the department has met with small and large plantation owners in the east coast of Sabah.
He said although those stakeholders were willing to cooperate in protecting elephants there were many killings beyond their control.
Meanwhile, on recent report of efforts by several non-governmental organisations (NGO) to provide geoinformation of elephants’ movement, Augustine said it was too early to know whether the move would solve human-elephant conflict in the east coast.
“However, we hope the data will help us to better manage and address issues related to elephants,” he said.
