Wildlife rangers working to resolve elephant-human conflict in Telupid

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife rangers are a step closer towards solving the month-long elephant-human conflict in Sabah’s Telupid district with the capture of three elephants.

 

According to a statement issued by the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) on Monday (Feb 26), their rangers were busy trying to capture several of the elephants which have been acting aggressively towards villagers.

 

The rangers have so far captured three elephants, one of which is an aggressive one, and will be translocating them away from the affected areas soon.

 

The three - a bull, a cow (female) and a calf - are among the over 20 elephants that have been going into villages and damaging crops to search for food.

 

The adults have been fitted with satellite collars provided by the Danau Girang Field Centre and this will allow the Wildlife Department to tract and monitor their movements.

 

Meanwhile, wildlife rangers are still trying to get the herd out of the area and push them back into the forest.

 

The WRU is funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and has been assisting the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) on the capture and translocation of aggressive elephants.

 

The SWD and WRU together with other agencies such as the Orangutan Appeal UK and Belia Gambaron will continue their operations to get the rest of the elephants out of the villages.