Gerik villagers and Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway users are accustomed to seeing elephants wandering along roadsides or venturing into villages and farms.
For villagers and farmers in Gerik, the presence of elephants often results in the destruction of crops and property.
The hardest hit are rubber plantation owners in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun I and II, who have suffered significant losses.
Although the government provides compensation, the plantation owners claim that it is insufficient to offset their losses.
As a result, some farmers have given up and abandoned their plantations altogether.
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Kampung Bandariang village chief Ibrahim Che Wan, 62, said elephants had been disturbing plantations in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun I and II for the last two years.
“They come to eat and then topple the trees.
“So far, they haven’t gotten to the houses yet,” he said.
Ibrahim, who has banana and rubber plantations, said elephant intrusions often coincided with fruiting seasons.
“If there are no dokong trees, they target rubber trees instead,” he said.
According to him, their only option was to report the incidents to Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
“When there is a complaint, Perhilitan will take action.
Ibrahim says elephants have been disturbing plantations for the last two years.
“As of October 2024, I believe Perhilitan has relocated 24 animals from Kampung Bandariang.
“Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) and Perhilitan have installed electric fences in plantations frequently disturbed by elephants, focusing on newly replanted farms as these are the most targeted,” said Ibrahim.
He explained that farmers typically plant 640 rubber trees on a 1.6ha plot, but when elephants invade, more than 500 trees could be destroyed.
Smallholder Muhammad Ghazali Nasia, 63, feels constant anxiety while tapping rubber trees on his 1.6ha plantation, which he has managed since 1995.
“I have never encountered an elephant, but I still feel scared because my farm was invaded by the animals last year.
“I planted 780 rubber trees, but the elephants destroyed more than 500.
“When I reported it to Perhilitan, I received about RM3,000 in compensation, but it wasn’t enough to cover my losses, as I earn around RM100 per day from the trees,” said Ghazali.
Muhammad Hisham Shamsuddin, 47, who once managed a durian orchard in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun II, has since abandoned his farm after an elephant intrusion last year.
“I bought 0.5ha of land for about RM40,000 in 2020.
“I planted 70 Musang King and Black Thorn durian saplings.
“After four years, the elephants came and that was the end of my farm.
“Now, only four or five trees remain.
“I lost hundreds of thousands of ringgit, including the cost of fertiliser, pesticides and labour.
“If things were going as planned, I would start harvesting in 2026,” said Hisham, who now works as a rubber tapper.
Meanwhile, Hermy Hasan, 42, a rubber plantation owner in Kampung Tanjung Rimbun I, said elephant disturbances in the village began in 2015.
“Previously, they would destroy trees and then return to the forest.
“But between 2019 and 2020, they started destroying trees and settling in the area.
“Replanting became pointless – we would plant, watch the trees grow for five years, only for the elephants to come and knock them down.
“The same happened to fruit orchards. We desperately need a long-term solution,” said Hermy, who planted 1,200 rubber trees in 2016 but now has fewer than 200 remaining.
