PUTRAJAYA: A total of 21 more elephant food banks will be built in Johor to keep the animal away from residential and agricultural areas, reducing human-elephant conflict.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said the project would complement the three existing elephant food banks in the state.
“The ministry is also implementing several measures to manage human-wildlife conflict more effectively and sustainably, including the development of an Elephant Electric Fence System to protect high-risk areas and enhance the safety of nearby communities.
“In addition, it is developing the Johor Elephant Sanctuary in phases to enable more systematic habitat management,” he said in a statement yesterday, Bernama reported.
He said the government also provides property and crop loss assistance to owners who suffer losses caused by wildlife, including elephants.
A total of 76,361 wildlife conflict complaints were recorded nationwide between 2021 and May 2026, involving estimated losses of RM58.7mil, he said.
Kurup said the conflict is driven by several interrelated factors, including habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation caused by land clearing, infrastructure development, agricultural activities and changes in land use, as well as the growing populations of both humans and elephants.
These factors have disrupted elephants’ traditional migration routes, increasing the likelihood of encounters between the animals and humans.
He said the ministry would continue strengthening mitigation efforts through elephant translocation operations, the development of wildlife corridors, research and the implementation of the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan 2.0.
Referring to the recent incident in which a baby elephant was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Johor, Kurup urged the public not to view the tragedy as an isolated incident but as a reminder of the need to strike a balance between development, public safety and wildlife conservation through the cooperation of all stakeholders.
He said the Wildlife and National Parks Department acted immediately to manage the elephant calf, taking into account the public’s reaction and emotions, adding that the ministry viewed every wildlife-related incident seriously.
A video that recently went viral on social media shows a grieving elephant mother refusing to leave the body of her calf killed after being hit by a car.
The distraught elephant is seen standing over and sitting beside the motionless calf while lingering at the roadside.
She was later released back into the jungle.
