KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's animal rights community is demanding answers after 10 endangered Borneo pygmy elephants were found dead over the past month in the south of Sabah. The elephants were believed to have died of poisoning over the last two weeks as puzzled wildlife officials tried to find the cause of their deaths. The first elephant died on Dec 29 and more continued to be found dead, with the last death on Jan 24. Speculation is growing that the pygmy elephants might have been poisoned but wildlife and other officials refused to speculate. “We are confused by this and the failure of the governmental authorities to investigate and understand what has happened before this got out of control,” animal campaigner Rohinna Gupta told Bikyanews.com. “We as a country must respect and protect our natural wildlife at all costs.” It is not known whether the poisoning occurred due to natural factors, such as plants producing toxins in the area or pesticides. The elephants were all found dead in an industrial tree plantation area under a forest management unit operated by private company in Kalabakan, about 150km from Tawau. The government has said that their current investigations into the matter has not uncovered the source of the killing and the poison, but activists believe it is man-made as a result of the plantation and chemicals being used. “We know that the companies working in Sabah don't take care of what they put on the ground and the elephants were likely poisoned due to this,” added Gupta, but she couldn't give specifics. “They are taking a backseat in all this, these companies, and are not releasing any information. We will find out and expose them for this tragedy,” she added. BN
