KUALA LUMPUR: Animal rights advocates in Malaysia are praising rescuers after they reportedly saved at least 10 pygmy elephants in the country. The rescue unit from the Sabah wildlife department captured and relocated the nine female adults and the lone male, a four-year-old calf, in an operation from January 18 to January 25. Disclosing details of the eight-day roundup here yesterday, unit senior officer Jibius Dausip said the elephants had ventured more than 45km from the Tabin wildlife reserve. “We received a call from Sri Tungku Simpang Ladang Permai, near Lahad Datu, that the elephants were roaming near his house," he said. Wildlife rangers rushed to the scene and captured the elephants using tranquilizer darts. It comes after a number of the elephants had been found dead in the country, apparently from unknown causes. The endangered elephants were found dead last month in a protected forest in Sabah state on Borneo. Sabah is home to most of the remaining 1,200 Borneo pygmy elephants that exist worldwide. The elephants are feared to have been poisoned because they encroached on Malaysian plantations. Sabah Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said the state's wildlife department would send samples to forensic testing facilities in Thailand and Australia for more comprehensive tests to determine the cause of the elephants' deaths. “To ensure greater transparency of the entire issue, my ministry will be seeking a second opinion from other laboratories," he said in a statement. The first elephant died on December 29 and more continued to be found dead. 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
