wildsingapore news: elephants

Showing posts with label elephants. Show all posts

Showing posts with label elephants. Show all posts

Malaysia: Govt to build elephant sanctuary in Perak

The Star 8 Sep 19;

TEMERLOH: The government will set up an elephant sanctuary in an area spanning 100ha in Perak at a cost of about RM20mil.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the move was part of an ongoing effort to conserve elephants, which were increasingly threatened due to human-elephant conflicts.

He said the new sanctuary would be a new addition to the Sungai Deka Elephant Sanctuary in Terengganu and the Johor Elephant Sanctuary in Kota Tinggi.

Malaysia: Elephants losing its tusks to live

Roy Goh New Straits Times 5 Sep 19;

KOTA KINABALU: Elephants in Sabah are evolving to lose their tusks to survive, a phenomenon that is also happening in other parts of the world.

Sightings of such tusk-less bull Bornean pygmy elephants are getting more common and a senior veterinarian believes more research needs to be done on the phenomenon and its implications.

Sabah Wildlife department assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said it used to be rare, seeing a tusk-less male, but these days it's becoming common.

"I have been involved in trans-locating elephants for more than 20 years and other senior colleagues dealt with the animal longer, more than 30 years, and now, we see this phenomenon becoming more common.

Indonesia: Wildfires in Riau force wild elephants to flee habitats

Antara 3 Sep 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Few wild elephants fled their habitats, entering residential areas after wildfires spread through the Tesso Nilo National Park, Riau Province, for the past week, the Natural Resources Conservation Office (BBKSDA) stated here, Tuesday.

Riau BBKSDA Chief Andi Hansen Siregar remarked that the national park's rangers had conducted monitoring of the movement of wild Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) from the rainforest to Bongkal Malang Village in Indragiri Hulu District.

Following a tip-off from villagers, two wild Sumatran elephants were spotted roaming around the plantation areas.

Malaysia: Minimising conflict between humans and elephants

MOHD FARHAAN SHAH The Star 22 Aug 19;

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Elephant Sanctuary (JES) will be beneficial to both the largest land animal in South-East Asia and humans as it is designed to reduce conflicts between them.

State Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director Salman Saaban said the 57.23ha land, located near Kampung Panti in Kota Tinggi, was expected to be completed this year.

“Elephants are migratory animals and in Johor, they have been found moving within four districts - Kota Tinggi, Kluang, Mersing and Segamat.

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.

Malaysia: Wild elephant terrorises Orang Asli family

The Star 21 Aug 19;

GUA MUSANG: A family of seven Orang Asli were in fear of a wild elephant that kept walking around their house in Kampung Aring 5, here.

Fortunately for the family, the animal left without incident an hour after first arriving early yesterday morning. It was seen entering the nearby jungle.

Villager Hussin Selik, 51, said this was the second such incident in two weeks.

The elephant, he said, entered the village at 3am yesterday.

Hussin said he started to worry for his family when the elephant circled his house before leaving.

Commentary: Singapore’s ivory trade ban tackles elephant in room but work ahead a mammoth task

Singapore’s ivory ban is a win for conservation but we must double down on wider conservation efforts, says WWF-Singapore’s Kim Stengert.
Kim Stengert Channel NewsAsia 17 Aug 19;

SINGAPORE: This week marked the end of a long wait for Singapore to stop the sale of ivory and ivory products and a victory for those working to put this in place.

Over the last six months, Singapore authorities seized an unprecedented amount of 38 tonnes of pangolin scales and almost 10 tonnes of elephant ivory worth more than S$170 million - with some close to the largest seizures the world has seen.

Led by the National Parks Board (NParks), these acts of enforcement were a true testament of the country’s zero-tolerance to illegal wildlife trade.

Just two days after the most recent seizure of 15 baskets containing 815 birds over the National Day weekend, Singapore announced the latest highlight of our fight against illegal wildlife trade: An ivory ban.

THE WORK IS FAR FROM COMPLETE

Singapore to ban domestic trade in elephant ivory from September 2021

Malavika Menon Straits Times 12 Aug 19;

SINGAPORE - Singapore will ban the domestic trade of elephant ivory from Sept 1, 2021, the National Parks Board (NParks) said on Monday (Aug 12).

The sale of elephant ivory and ivory products as well as the public display of such products for the purpose of selling them will be prohibited in Singapore once the ban comes into effect.

The ban highlights Singapore's resolve in the fight against the illegal trade in species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), said NParks. Singapore is a signatory to Cites, under which international trade in elephant ivory has been banned since 1990.

Malaysia: Elephants feeding on Orang Asli crops

SIRA HABIBU The Star 9 Aug 19;

PETALING JAYA: Rampaging elephants are destroying Orang Asli community farms in Pos Simpor near Gua Musang, Kelantan, sparking fears of famine during the coming rainy season.

Villagers in Kampung Jader, Kampung Penad and Kampung Ceranok claimed that logging and land-clearing activities in the Balah Forest Reserve had forced the elephants out of their normal habitat, leaving them to forage for food in villages.

Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Wilayah Tanah Adat Pos Simpor chairman Nur Mohd Syafiq Dendi Abdullah said the elephants had been destroying the community’s self-sustainable farms since July.“Our tapioca, pumpkin, corn and banana plants have been destroyed, affecting over 200 people from 48 households here.

“We fear the worst during the rainy season as it will be difficult for us to go to town in Gua Musang to get our grocery supplies.“We have always relied on our own food crops, especially during the rainy season when the towns are flooded and we are locked down in the jungle, ” he added.

Indonesia: East Aceh district head orders probe into killing of elephants

Antara 31 Jul 19;

Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - East Aceh District Head, H Hasballah HM Thaib, has ordered a probe into the killing of several elephants in the district.

"This is an environmental crime. We are concerned about the case where several elephants fell prey to the trap, leading to their death," he said on Wednesday.

He pointed out the recent case where a baby elephant and two adult elephants were trapped in the hinterland, which tarnished the image of East Aceh both at the national and international levels.

Malaysia: Wild elephant dies after hit by lorry in Hulu Terengganu

Bernama New Straits Times 29 Jul 19;

HULU TERENGGANUL: A wild elephant was killed after it was hit by a lorry carrying iron ore in an incident at KM44 of Jalan Kuala Berang-Aring here, last night.

Hulu Terengganu district police chief DSP Mohd Adli Mat Daud said the incident occurred at about 10.30 pm when lorry driver Emyhaizi Ahmad, 32, was heading from Gua Musang to the Kemaman Port.

According to Mohd Adli, the driver reported that when he arrived at the scene, a group of wild elephants suddenly came out of the forest area, and he could not stop the vehicle in time.

Malaysia: Perhilitan translocates two-tonne wild jumbo to Terengganu national park

The Star 24 Jul 19;

KOTA BARU (Bernama): A two-tonne male wild elephant captured in Batu Melintang, Jeli, on Sunday (July 21) was successfully relocated by the Wildlife and National Park Department (Perhilitan) to the Terengganu National Park.

Kelantan Perhilitan director Ady Ermanty Haniff Mohamed Hanif said that two decoy elephants, namely, Abot and Rambai, from the National Elephant Conservation Centre (NECC) in Kuala Gandah, Lanchang, in Pahang were used in the operation.

He said that the relocation exercise started at 8.30am Wednesday (July 24) and was completed at 1.15pm.

Singapore seizes record haul of ivory alongside pangolin scales in S$66m shipment

Channel NewsAsia 23 Jul 19;

SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities on Sunday (Jul 21) seized S$66.2 million worth of elephant ivory and pangolin scales after they intercepted a transshipment bound for Vietnam.

Officials found 11.9 tonnes of pangolin scales and 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory in a container from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the National Parks Board, Singapore Customs and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority in a joint release on Tuesday.

The container was part of a shipment of three being transhipped through Singapore to Vietnam, and had been declared as timber.

However "upon inspection, sacks containing pangolin scales and elephant ivory were found in one of the containers", said the news release.

Indonesia: Man arrested for trying to smuggle elephant tusks from Malaysia

Dyaning Pangestika The Jakarta Post 12 Jul 19;

The authorities in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, have arrested a 54-year-old man for allegedly trying to smuggle 10 elephant tusks from Malaysia.

Investigators from the Kalimantan Law Enforcement Center (Gakkum) foiled the smuggling attempt after receiving a tip-off from the Nunukan Customs and Excise Office on Tuesday.

Thousands of wild animals seized in smuggling crackdown

Nearly 600 arrests in Interpol operation that nets primates, big cats, birds and reptiles
Agence France-Presse The Guardian 10 Jul 9;

Police across the globe have seized thousands of wild animals, including primates and big cats, and arrested nearly 600 suspects in a crackdown on illegal wildlife smuggling, Interpol has said.

Covering 109 countries, the operation was carried out in coordination with the World Customs Organization (WCO), with investigators homing in on trafficking routes and crime hotspots, the international policing body said.

Operation Thunderball, based in Singapore, was aimed at transnational crime networks seeking to profit from wildlife smuggling activities. It was the third such Interpol mission in recent years.

Indonesia: Riau sees human-elephant conflicts double in 2019

The Jakarta Post 8 Jul 19;

The number of conflicts between residents and Sumatran elephants doubled in Riau during the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, data from the Riau Resource Conservation Center (BBKSDA) shows.

"Data recorded between January and June this year shows that there has been a sharp increase compared to the same period last year," BBKSDA Riau chief Suharyono said in Pekanbaru city, Riau, on Saturday, as quoted by Antara.

The center recorded 30 conflicts between wild elephants and residents in various parts of the province between January and June this year, a spike from the 16 cases recorded over the same period last year.

Malaysia: Elephants trash Kluang family's house and car

The Star 6 Jul 19;

KLUANG (Bernama): A villager from Kampung Sri Timur was awoken early Saturday (July 6) by loud sounds and saw two elephants in front of his house.

"I felt shock and terror when I saw the two elephants right in front of the house. I watched helplessly as they trashed the garage," said Afian Kamin, 36.

Malaysia: 5 wild elephants wreak havoc in village near Tasik Kenyir

Rosli Zakaria New Straits Times 3 Jul 19;

HULU TERENGGANU: A herd of five wild elephants have been destroying banana trees and betel nut palms in Kampung Basung near Tasik Kenyir since last week.

Led by their matriarch, the pachyderms have been encroaching into agricultural plots near the houses at night.

One of villagers, Ismail Mamat, said they were living in fear.

“The elephants have destroyed my banana trees about 10m from my house,” he said.

“This is the first time the animals have encroached into the village.

Indonesia: Houses in Aceh destroyed after 12 elephants go on rampage

Antara 27 Jun 19;

A house at Tuwi Meuleusong Village, Seunagan Timur Sub-district, Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province, is damaged after an elephant attack. (ANTARA/Istimewa)

Suka Makmue, Aceh (ANTARA) - A herd of 12 elephants recently ran amok in the villages of Blang Lango and Tuwi Meuleusong in Seunagan Timur Sub-district, Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province, destroying a house and plantations.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), (the attack) claimed no lives," Seunagan Timur Sub-district Head Teuku Mukhsin stated on Thursday.

Indonesia: Trained elephants ill after 10 days of expelling wild elephants

Antara 25 Jun 19;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Two trained elephants fell ill from fatigue after a 10-day operation to drive out wild elephants in Riau Province and had to be returned to the Tesso Nilo National Park for their recovery.

"Two elephants named Rahman and Indro were returned (to the park) on Sunday night, as they had fallen sick and showed signs of exhaustion," Andri Hansen Siregar, an official of the Riau Natural Conservation Agency (BBKSDA), stated here on Tuesday.

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