KOTA KINABALU – The elephant which gored its handler on last Sunday will now be isolated from the others at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said elephants that have become a danger to others will be isolated from other elephants and be chained up.
He said the department is also looking for ways to relocate these elephants to other facilities that are fitting for them.
Efforts will be made to ensure they have the freedom to move about in facilities that have adequate space.
“Sabah does not have such a facility unless the state government provides enough allocation to build one,” he said here today.
Tuuga said relocating these elephants abroad where such facilities are available is also being considered.
He said elephants need to roam freely without being shackled or confined in cramped spaces.
Tuuga also noted that the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park now has too many elephants and the existing facility can no longer sustain the numbers.
He added the number of handlers is also limited with most of their salary coming from sponsors or paid for by non-governmental groups.
Kejora the killer?
The elephant that killed its handler on Christmas day has since been identified as Kejora or known simply as “Joe”, according to reports.
Joe was brought into Lok Kawi Wildlife Park as a calf in 2013 after it was discovered tugging its dead mother along the roadside at Gunung Rara Forest Reserve, which was coincidentally adjacent to an oil palm plantation.
Joe’s mother was part of a herd of 14 other elephants discovered dead at the forest reserve due to poisoning.
The heart-wrenching story of Joe caught global attention and the death of its handler on Christmas Day has again brought Joe into the spotlight.
The Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has noted that the park currently provides sanctuary for 16 pygmy elephants but only has six staff to manage them. The park charges a fee of RM10 for Malaysians to view the various animals in the facility, including the elephants.
Most of the elephants were orphaned or abandoned by their herds and officials have pointed out that they will not survive if they are sent back into the wild.
Initially, Joe was supposed to be sent back into the wild but the move did not materialise over such concerns.
At least two of Sabah’s pygmy elephants have died in the park, including a 4-year-old calf up until 2018.
Speaking to AFP, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said a probe will be carried out to determine the cause.
“We will undertake an investigation to determine the cause,” he said.
The husbandry procedures at the park have now come under scrutiny following the death of 49-year-old wildlife ranger, Joe Fred Lansou.
Danau Girang Field Centre director Benoit Goosens, who called for the procedures to be reviewed, also pointed out that putting the elephant to sleep should never be considered an option.
The park operations had come under scrutiny by conservationists twice – in 2014 and then in 2018 – over the treatment of the confined animals. – The Vibes, December 30, 2022
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