Conflict with humans more of a threat for jumbos

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dwindling Borneo pygmy elephant population is more threatened by conflict with humans amid forest clearing for agriculture than by accidental and natural deaths, says a conservationist.

Dr Marc Ancrenaz, who heads the non-governmental organisation Hutan that works with the state Wildlife Department, said deaths through poisoning and shooting took a toll every year on the roaming elephants, which are estimated to number between 1,500 and 2,500.