Pond an elephant death trap

KOTA KINABALU: A disused quarry pond turned out to be a death trap for a herd of seven endangered Borneo Pygmy elephants, with five, including three young calves, drowning and two more being put down as they were too weak to be saved.

Only two elephants in the nine-animal herd escaped alive.

The death of the elephants comes as a major blow to Sabah’s efforts to conserve the 1,500 or so remaining jumbos in its forests.

The nine pachyderms were believed to have been trapped inside the pond for at least a week before the heart-wrenching find by passers-by in Rinukut, off the Kalabakan-Keningau road in Tawau.

A post-mortem confirmed that five of the elephants (two adults, a juvenile and two newborns) had drowned.

Another two adult elephants suffered from severe dehydration.

“The two were too weak, dehydrated and blind that they had to be put to sleep to save them from their misery,” said Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga.

Stuck:Wildlife Rescue Unit rangers helping one of the weak elephants out of the pool as another lies dead in the muddy water.

“It is tragic,” he told reporters yesterday.

Two other elephants were pulled out of the pond by wildlife rangers. The animals fled to a nearby forest.

The herd had gone to cool off in the four-metre deep disused pond near a timber camp.

Augustine said the department was notified about the trapped elephants by the passers-by and had immediately sent out a rescue team.

“Unfortunately, when our team reached the area, five of the nine trapped elephants were already dead.

“They had been stuck in that pool for at least a week,” he said.

With help of some heavy machinery from the nearby Berkat Saga timber camp, two of the stronger adult elephants managed to be pulled out to safety.

Heart-wrenching find: The elephant carcasses are seen in the disused quarry pond in Rinukut, off the Kalabakan- Keningau road in Tawau.

They eventually ran into the forest, Augustine said.

He ruled out foul play based on their investigation and post-mortem reports.

“The elephants probably went into the mud pool to cool themselves and to bathe,” Augustine said.

“They probably underestimated the depth and the quicksand-like consistency of the mud and could not come out,” he added.

The mud pool was sealed with sand following the tragedy.

Augustine urged those who did similar excavations to fill up or fence up areas if they are no longer in use.

This was to prevent possible recurrence especially in areas occupied by elephants and other animals, he added.