IPOH: An encounter with a herd of wild elephants turned perilous for a 39-year-old man after his car was damaged at KM11 on the Gerik-Jeli stretch of the East-West Highway.
Gerik police chief Supt Zulkifli Mahmood said a report regarding the incident was received around 11.35pm on Monday.
“The man had been driving from Jeli towards Gerik when he came across a herd of elephants crossing the road.
“The man then immediately stopped his car and switched off the headlights in an attempt to avoid startling the animals,” Supt Zulkifli said in a statement yesterday.
“He then heard a car horn from behind and suddenly three elephants approached his vehicle. Panicking, the driver left his car to seek safety.”
He said the elephants later left the area and the driver returned to his vehicle and proceeded to the Gerik police station to lodge a report.
The front, rear and sides of the vehicle was damaged in the incident but the driver was unharmed.
Supt Zulkifli advised motorists to be extra cautious when travelling through forested stretches of the highway network, which are known to be elephant-crossing zones.
“Drivers are advised not to honk or use high-beam lights when encountering elephants and to remain calm and inside their vehicles,” he added.
Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Yusoff Shariff clarified that the elephant seen with the herd is not the same female whose calf was killed by a truck on May 11.
“The location (of the incident) is also not the same as the earlier incident.
“The case on Monday night happened much farther away, about 15km from Pekan Gerik, while the previous incident was near the Kelantan border,” he added.
