Trap believed to have killed jumbo found in river

KOTA KINABALU: A trap is believed to have killed the bull elephant which was found floating in Sungai Kinabatangan on Sept 25.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the pachyderm, estimated to be between 15 and 20 years old, was believed to be killed about three days earlier.

He said the carcass was spotted by a guide with a group of four tourists on a river cruise.

Augustine said a post-mortem on the carcass showed that apart from its tusks, the left hind limb and part of the skin on the left side had been sliced off.

The post-mortem did not find any evidence of gunshot on the body indicating that the elephant was caught in a snare trap that eventually caused it to die of exhaustion, he said.

“Our investigation is now focused on finding the possible area where the elephant died or had been killed,” Augustine added.

The elephant was the second pachyderm killed in Sabah in less than two weeks.

Another bull elephant was found dead at a plantation area in the southeastern Kalabakan area on Sept 10 with its tusks removed as well.

While there is a high demand for the tusks in China, Augustine said they were also highly sought in Indonesia where they are used as wedding dowries particularly among the Timor community.