KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is looking at an early warning system using satellite collars on elephants and electric fences as a long-term measure to mitigate persistent encroachment into the villages in lower Kinabatangan.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said using global positioning system (GPS) collars would help track elephant movement and provide early warning for human settlements and plantations.
He also said tracking elephant movement could also aid any plans to install electric fences to ensure they do not block migration routes of elephant herds.
He said electric fences are only effective if implemented correctly.
"The Sabah Wildlife Department, in collaboration with NGOs, is testing an early warning system to detect the movement of collared elephant groups before they reach targeted locations," he said on Thursday (Aug 6).
Jafry was commenting on concerns of some 3,000 residents in three Batu Puteh villages after a herd of about 20 elephants repeatedly entered and destroyed their farms.
Elephant herds from the Pin Supu Forest Reserve usually slip into farms at night, with some staying for days.
An electric fence previously installed by a non-governmental organisation had kept herds away but stopped functioning about a year ago.
Jafry said the Wildlife Department and local villagers were currently trying to coax the elephants back into the forest.
