Malaysia: Elephants trapped in mud pit rescued

Mohd Rafi Mamat New Straits Times 21 Aug 19;

PEKAN: A herd of elephants including a young calf were rescued after getting trapped in an abandoned mud pit at the Ibam forest reserve near Runchang, here, yesterday.

Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) rangers took about four hours to dig a path and chase the elephants to climb out of a steep mud pit which is believed to be an abandoned gold mining site.

State Perhilitan director Rozidan Md Yasin said the Orang Asli community who lived nearby had stumbled upon the animals stuck in the pit at about noon and immediately alerted the department.

He said four rangers were deployed to the scene and they sought help from a mining company operator in the vicinity to help bring the animals out.

"An excavator was brought to help dig out a path to form a ramp to allow the animals to climb out of the pit. It took some four hours to complete the task.

"Once completed, the elephants managed to climb out of the pit before walking into the nearby forest. We believe the animals had entered the 4.5m deep pit for a mud bath when they were trapped," he said today.

Rozidan said the abandoned mining pits have become a threat not only to elephants but other wild animals which occupied the Ibam forest reserve.

"We hope mining operators will be more responsible by covering up disused mining pits or the authorities will take action against those who fail to adhere to the orders," he said.

He said the elephants occupied the jungle near the mining pit which was located some 7km from the Runchang Orang Asli settlement.

Footage shared by Perhilitan online showed the animals climbing out of the mud and quickly heading into the forest as they were cheered by those involved in the rescue operations.

Elephants saved from abandoned mining pond
RASHVINJEET S. BEDI The Star 22 Aug 19;

PETALING JAYA: Five elephants which were trapped in a mining pond in a forest reserve in Pahang were rescued by wildlife department officers.

The elephants were believed to have been stuck in an abandoned illegal gold mining pond located in the Bukit Ibam forest reserve in Pekan, Pahang.

The animals were rescued on Tuesday.

Pahang Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director Rozidan Md Yasin said the height of the pond was about 4.5m and filled with muddy water about a metre deep.

He said his officers managed to coax the five elephants out of the pool by digging a slope with the help of an excavator borrowed from a company in the area.

Rozidan said they believed that the elephants had been stuck in the pond for two to three days before they were rescued. One of the elephants was a newborn infant.

“We think the infant had fallen into the pond. Its mother and the other three elephants then probably tried to rescue it, but they got stuck as well,” he said in an interview yesterday.

The video of the operation was uploaded onto the department’s Facebook page, which showed the elephants eventually climbing onto the slope that was built for them.

Rozidan said the rescue operation took about six hours and that all the elephants made their way out by 6pm.

He said the Orang Asli who lived in the area informed the department about the trapped elephants trumpeting for help.

He said this was the second time this year that they carried out a similar operation, the other one being in Rompin.

An estimated 3,000 elephants, considered as endangered animals, are left in Malaysia.

Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants deputy principal investigator Dr Wong Ee Phin praised Perhilitan for the quick action to save the elephants, saying they could die if they were left in the pond.

In 2016, The Star reported that seven Borneo Pygmy elephants drowned after they were stuck in a disused quarry pond in Tawau.

The nine pachyderms were believed to have been trapped inside the pond for at least a week before they were found by passers-by.