KOTA KINABALU: Photos of a dead elephant calf being shared online have been found to be recycled images, said the Sabah Wildlife Department.
Its director Roland Nuin said a team was dispatched to investigate claims of an elephant death in an estate in Sabah, after the photos of the deceased calf spread widely online.
"Based on our ground checks and investigations, we discovered that the photos were not recent but were actually old images being recycled. We believe the elephant death occurred in 2021," Nuin said when contacted.
Earlier on Friday (Nov 29), a Facebook user had shared images of a dead elephant, though the location of the incident was not provided.
The user removed the photos by around 1.30pm.
The most recent confirmed elephant death in Sabah occurred on Sept 17, when the carcass of a female Borneo elephant calf was found at a farm in Begahak, in the Lahad Datu district.
It was believed to have died from traumatic injuries sustained while foraging for food and roaming the forest.
