KOTA KINABALU: An endangered Borneo pygmy elephant was found brutally killed along the Kalabakan road in Sabah's east coast Tawau district.
A video of the elephant with its head decapitated was posted on social media on Sunday (Jan 20) after a motorist spotted the carcass along the Kalabakan-Sapulut road about 25km from the Maliau Basin.
According to the post, the Sabah Wildlife Department has been alerted, but no official statement has been made.
The department's newly appointed director, Soffian Abu Bakar, could not be immediately reached.
However, wildlife department sources said an investigation was underway, and they were carrying out a post-mortem.
They have also lodged a police report over the incident and urged the public to contact the department's Tawau office with any information.
Conservationists, who did not wish to be identified, speculated that poachers shot the elephant before removing its head.
It is estimated that only 1,500 to 2,000 elephants are left in Sabah’s wild.
