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Kuala Lumpur, Jan 23, 2012 (AFP) - Malaysian wildlife authorities
said Monday they had rescued a pygmy elephant calf on Borneo island and
expressed hope a planned sanctuary would provide protection for the
endangered animals.
The male calf, which is less than a month old, was pulled out of a deep moat surrounding a palm oil plantation in remote Sabah state on Friday, said Sen Nathan, a senior official with the Sabah Wildlife Department.
It is the fifth calf rescued by wildlife officials since 2009. Three of those previously saved have died but a female has recovered and is now at a wildlife park.
The male calf, which is less than a month old, was pulled out of a deep moat surrounding a palm oil plantation in remote Sabah state on Friday, said Sen Nathan, a senior official with the Sabah Wildlife Department.
It is the fifth calf rescued by wildlife officials since 2009. Three of those previously saved have died but a female has recovered and is now at a wildlife park.
[Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Pygmy Elephants?]
There are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild, according to authorities. A sub-species of the Asian elephant, the creatures have a rounded appearance and are smaller than mainland elephants.
The latest rescued calf, which weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), was in a serious condition, Nathan told AFP.
"He suffered severe dehydration and cuts and abrasions, probably while trying to get out of the moat," he said.
The elephant's mother was probably forced to leave it behind after the pair fell into the moat, and the calf likely spent more than a day there before being spotted by plantation workers, he said.
Nathan said a planned elephant sanctuary on 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of land within the 26,000-hectare Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in Sabah would help protect the animals.
The sanctuary would be able to house up to 60 injured elephants, as well as those found when they were too young to be reintroduced into the wild.
[Learn More About Pygmy Elephants]
Authorities announced plans for the sanctuary earlier this month and want it open by the end of the year. "We really need this sanctuary," Nathan said.
The sanctuary will be funded with 5.3 million ringgit ($1.7 million) from industry body the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and 1.5 million ringgit from NGO the Borneo Conservation Trust.
Wildlife activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo, a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
There are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild, according to authorities. A sub-species of the Asian elephant, the creatures have a rounded appearance and are smaller than mainland elephants.
The latest rescued calf, which weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), was in a serious condition, Nathan told AFP.
"He suffered severe dehydration and cuts and abrasions, probably while trying to get out of the moat," he said.
The elephant's mother was probably forced to leave it behind after the pair fell into the moat, and the calf likely spent more than a day there before being spotted by plantation workers, he said.
Nathan said a planned elephant sanctuary on 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of land within the 26,000-hectare Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in Sabah would help protect the animals.
The sanctuary would be able to house up to 60 injured elephants, as well as those found when they were too young to be reintroduced into the wild.
[Learn More About Pygmy Elephants]
Authorities announced plans for the sanctuary earlier this month and want it open by the end of the year. "We really need this sanctuary," Nathan said.
The sanctuary will be funded with 5.3 million ringgit ($1.7 million) from industry body the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and 1.5 million ringgit from NGO the Borneo Conservation Trust.
Wildlife activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo, a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
5 comments:
A sanctuary for this endangered species is a must.
Pygmy elephants are also one of the endangered species in Sabah, hope that the elephant sanctuary will help protect the elephants from going extinct.
Luckily for the pygmy calf for being discovered by a plantation worker. Hope that he will survive unlike the 3 others that died.
Malaysian Wildlife Law consists of the regulation, protection, conservation and management of wildlife in Malaysia. The Constitution of Malaysia empowers those at the federal and the states level to make laws regarding wildlife resources. As such, eleven states in peninsular are managed under an act while Sabah enacted an enactment and Sarawak an ordinance.
A Wildlife Commission of Malaya was established by the British colonists in 1932 to make full inquiry into existing regulations for protection of wildlife; ways to deal with wildlife damage to agriculture; and the organization needed to administer the preservation of wildlife
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