Female elephant a victim of mating ritual gone awry

An elephant was found dead by the roadside near Danum Valley.

KOTA KINABALU: An adult female elephant found dead by the roadside near Danum Valley on Monday was a victim of a mating ritual gone awry.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said foul play had been ruled out in the incident as post-mortem results showed trauma in the elephant's head and shoulder region as there was evidence of brain congestion and haemorrhage.

"From the injuries found on her, we believe the female elephant was a mating ritual victim," he explained on Tuesday.

"Based on reports, there was a group of 40 elephants in the vicinity and there is a strong reason to believe that there was fighting among some of the bull elephants prior to the female elephant's death," he said.

The carcass of the elephant is believed to be aged between 15 and 20 years old, and was discovered by a group of tourists and their guides heading towards the renowned research site, some 78km from east coast Lahad Datu.