14th pygmy elephant found dead in Malaysia
Source: AFP |
February 1, 2013, Friday
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A 14th rare Borneo pygmy elephant has been found dead of suspected poisoning, Malaysian officials said yesterday, the latest in a series of fatalities that has shaken conservation efforts.
Meanwhile, an official warned that a three-month-old baby elephant, photographed trying to nuzzle its dead mother, was losing weight fast and may not survive.
The decomposed remains of the latest known victim were found on Wednesday, said Laurentius Ambu, director of the wildlife department in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island.
Officials believe the animals may have been poisoned, possibly by substances left out by workers at nearby oil palm plantations to deter the animals from eating their palm fruit.
They fear more dead pygmy elephants, an endangered species, could be found because they usually roam Borneo's jungles in herds of 50 to 60 animals.
Masidi Manjun, Sabah's tourism, culture and environment minister, warned it would be a "challenging task" to keep the three-month-old orphaned calf alive as it was consuming only half its normal 30 liters of milk daily.
The calf is being kept in quarantine at a wildlife park and has lost 10 kilograms after being traumatized by an 800 kilometer road journey to the park, the Star newspaper said yesterday.
Meanwhile, an official warned that a three-month-old baby elephant, photographed trying to nuzzle its dead mother, was losing weight fast and may not survive.
The decomposed remains of the latest known victim were found on Wednesday, said Laurentius Ambu, director of the wildlife department in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island.
Officials believe the animals may have been poisoned, possibly by substances left out by workers at nearby oil palm plantations to deter the animals from eating their palm fruit.
They fear more dead pygmy elephants, an endangered species, could be found because they usually roam Borneo's jungles in herds of 50 to 60 animals.
Masidi Manjun, Sabah's tourism, culture and environment minister, warned it would be a "challenging task" to keep the three-month-old orphaned calf alive as it was consuming only half its normal 30 liters of milk daily.
The calf is being kept in quarantine at a wildlife park and has lost 10 kilograms after being traumatized by an 800 kilometer road journey to the park, the Star newspaper said yesterday.
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