SANDAKAN – The authorities in Sabah are aware of a herd of elephants in the area where one of them trampled a woman to death recently, said state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin.
However, he said translocation was not a suitable option.
Yesterday, a 67-year-old woman was trampled to death when an elephant attacked her while she was travelling on a motorcycle with her husband along the Sabah Softwoods Estate main road in Tawau district.
In a statement today, Jafry said the ministry has launched an investigation to find out what triggered the elephant.
He explained that the Sabah Softwoods plantation had set up a wildlife corridor for the elephants.
“They also cultivated napier grass for the elephants to feed on to reduce the risk of elephants intruding into their plantation and damaging crops,” he said.
In the incident at about 7.30am yesterday morning, victim Samsiah Arshad, 67, and her husband Tahir Salleh, were headed on a motorcycle to Kongsi 4 of the Cenderamata oil palm plantation from Kg Hidayat Batu 4 here to visit their grandchild.
Tahir, who is in his 60s, was unhurt.
Tawau Wildlife Department officer Primus Lambut said the department had received a report regarding the wild elephant that went on a rampage in the Dumpas area, adding that it was not the same pregnant elephant that was previously reported encroaching Merotai town.
Sabah Softwoods Berhad (SSC), an established agro-forest plantation company based in Tawau, is one of the first companies to set aside its land for wildlife corridors.
Last year, The Vibes reported that about 60 to 80 elephants roam on SSC’s vast plantation, about 60,700ha.
SSC has set aside 12% (7,000ha) for conservation, including wildlife corridors.
The land measuring some 13.89km in length and 400m to 800m in width is earmarked specifically for elephants through a project named Plant4Borneo Elephants initiated by 1Stop Borneo Wildlife, a non-governmental organisation.
Many among the smallest species of elephant in Asia – Borneo Pygmy elephants – have had most of their natural habitats around the forests in Sabah’s east coast developed into palm oil and timber plantations over the years.
Many of the pachyderms have been exposed to threats such as poaching.
The Vibes has reported that a total of 176 deaths were recorded between 2010 and 2020, while 80 cases were reported in 2018-2020 – 2018 (32 cases), 2019 (25 cases) and 2020 (23 cases).
In one case, a two-year-old elephant calf’s right foot was amputated after being wounded by a snare trap in Lahad Datu in June. Despite treatment and surgery, she died soon after. – The Vibes, September 24, 2022
