TAWAU – A herd of between 20 and 30 wild elephants which wandered into a settlement in Luasong here yesterday was not aggressive, says Tawau Wildlife Department officer Primus Lambut.
He said that even though no resident was injured in the incident that occurred at the border of Simpan Luasong Forest Reserve, a motorcycle and a car were, however, damaged by the elephants after residents tried to drive them away.
The officer said Tawau Wildlife Department received a report on the incident at around 9am and a team was immediately sent to the location to monitor the situation and also chase away the elephants from the settlement.
“The herd was not violent, except for one believed to be the leader of the group which was seen to be stepping on a fallen motorcycle as was shown in a viral video,” he said to reporters here today.
The one-minute eight seconds recording showed several wild elephants passing through the houses of the residents who then tried to drive away the elephants in the incident that happened about 240km from Tawau.
Primus however ruled out the possibility that the herd was involved in an incident involving a senior citizen who was crushed to death by wild elephants near Dumpas, Jalan Merota, Kalabakan, in Tawau on September 23. – Bernama, December 9, 2022
