All jumbos wanted was to have fun, says vet

KOTA KINABALU: A baby, wanting to have fun, wades into a pool of water. His buddy joins in. The adults join in too. Then, they run into trouble in the water. In the struggle to get out, the adults trample the young. And seven elephants die.

That was the painful story veterinarian Dr Laura Benedict had to tell after the deaths of seven elephants at a disused mining pond at a jungle area in Tawau.

“It was heart wrenching. It is the worst I have seen so far,” said Dr Benedict, who was part of the eight-member Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) team that went to the scene on Sept 10 after an alert from the public to the Wildlife Department.

“I was really shocked. We don’t come across this sort of cases where nearly a herd is found dead, she said.

“Elephants enjoy the cool water. For them to die in it, it’s so sad.”

Dr Benedict said they moved in quickly to help rescue the surviving elephants that day.

“I believe the calves drowned first. And when the adults tried to get out, they might have trampled on them,” she said.

The closest settlement was about 10km from a timber camp nearby. There was also a plantation about 32km away.

“The place is isolated and people we talked to said that they never go to that area,” she said.

“Whoever dug a hole in the area should have just covered it after they’ve finished their work there. These deaths could have been prevented,” said Dr Benedict, who has been involved in the rescue of over a dozen elephants, including at least 10 calves.