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| One of the two collared elephants known as Bikang 1. After her release, Bikang 1 started a long trek of more than 100 km deep into the Tabin Wildlife Reserve forest. |
While the shocking death of 14 Borneo Pygmy Elephants was still fresh
in the people's memory, the rescue of ten others in Lahad Datu provided
some relief.
The ten elephants were rescued by the Sabah Wildlife Department between
18th and the 25th of January, when it became known that they had
ventured more than 45 km from their original habitat at the Tabin
Managed Elephant Range and to an area a mere 10 km away from Lahad Datu
town.
"We received a call from a man from Sri Tungku Simpang Ladang Permai,
near Lahad Datu, complaining that elephants were roaming near his
house," explained Jibius Dausip, senior officer from the Wildlife Rescue
Unit.
A team was dispatched to the location where they found a herd of ten
elephants - 9 female of various ages and one young male of about 4
years old. Jibius confirmed that the group was most likely a family
group.
Wildlife veterinarian from the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) and the Danau
Girang Field Centre, Dr Diana Ramirez said that all 9 female elephants
have been herded back to Tabin Wildlife Reserve. She added that two of
the biggest females in the group were fitted with satellite collars
provided by the Danau Girang Field Centre.
One of the elephants, a young male had a bad injury on its trunk and
was transferred to the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park where it receives
treatment.
Ramirez explained that without captive intervention, the injured elephant had a slim chance of survival in the wild.
The translocation of the elephants had to be done in stages as releasing them in one go would pose logistical problems.
Senior Wildlife Officer and WRU Manager Dr. Senthilvel Nathan disclosed
that his team is currently studying the possibility of releasing future
translocated herds together to prevent the herd from separating.
"That might cost more and it would be logistically more challenging
because we would need to set up a pre-release holding area and renting
more transporting lorries. But our main concern is the elephants'
welfare and keeping the group dynamic intact," he said.
Director of Danau Girang Field Centre Dr Benoit Goossens explained that
extensive agriculture through plantations such as palm oil has
considerably reduced the habitat of the elephant and other wildlife in
Sabah. This has led to an increase in human-elephant conflicts.
"The recent deaths of 14 elephants are most likely a result of
human-elephant conflict in elephant ranges and there is an obvious need
to better manage the landscape within and around the plantations by
providing routes for wildlife to move from one forest to another," added
Goossens.
According to Goossens, after one month of satellite monitoring, the two
collared female elephants have roamed in the reserve and have not yet
ventured into plantations around Tabin.
"If they ever return to the vicinity of Lahad Datu, we will be able to
analyse their migratory pattern and advise the plantation owners how to
fence their land to avoid any more intrusion," he said.
Elephant translocation is part of a long-term programme that the Sabah
Wildlife Department and Danau Girang Field Centre launched last year to
tackle human-elephant conflicts in agricultural plantations such as palm
oil.
Funding is currently provided by The Asian Elephant Foundation and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.
The Danau Girang Field Centre is a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University.
Source: Insight Sabah
