WWF says translocation not the answer: 99 cases of jumbo deaths; none charged
Published on: Saturday, April 25, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: It's not cheap to translocate an elephant from one forest to another. While it may cost around RM30,000 to shift a Borneon elephant, there is also no guarantee they would able to adapt to its new environment. Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Senior Programme Officer, Dr Cheryl Cheah, said the move is not recommended as not only it is expensive but also stressed out the animals.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Satellite collaring has also suggested that those that have been translocated would return to their original habitat. "Translocation may also introduce new diseases to their new habitat," she said. Dr Cheah is the WWF-Malaysia personnel who coordinated the field of research on Borneon elephants.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a statement here, the non-governmental organisation warned the habitat of Borneo elephants in Sabah has shrunk due to cultivation such as oil palm plantations. Forest loss from 1990 to 2000 has accelerated in Sabah and it is estimated that there may be less than 1,500 Borneon elephants in the State as their survival is threatened by the increasing human- elephant conflict.
ADVERTISEMENT
A total of 99 cases have been reported but not a single suspect has been prosecuted for "retaliatory killings" due to damage of crops done by the animal, WWF-Malaysia said, adding that the number of cases could be more but may have gone unreported. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
