KOTA TINGGI: An elephant that has been ravaging a fruit farm for the past week here has been successfully relocated, says Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.
He said that the male elephant was captured by the Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) on June 19.
“We received a report about an elephant entering and damaging coconut and fruit plantations at Desaru Fruit Farm a week earlier.
“An operation was then launched on June 16 to capture the elephant.
“The elephant was later found on June 19 within Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s land in Sungai Cemaran, Desaru,” he said in a Facebook statement here.
He added that the operation, dubbed Ops Gajah, was conducted around Tanjung Sedili and nearby areas.
“The operation was carried out by Johor Perhilitan’s Elephant Capture Unit, which confirmed the animal’s identity and successfully relocated it to prevent further human-wildlife conflict,” he added.
Meanwhile, when contacted, Johor Perhilitan director Aminuddin Jamin said that the elephant was believed to be from the ID Panti herd.
“The elephant may have lost its way and we have relocated it to its natural habitat.
“The elephant is part of the ID Panti group, which is one of the five identified herds in Johor,” he said.
