By Azmie Lim

Elephants moving back to original habitat – officer

LAHAD DATU: Efforts to chase out a herd of elephants that had entered farms and villages in Tungku are showing positive development.

District Wildlife Department officer Sylvester Saimin said the elephants had moved about five kilometers from the area that they had intruded since last May.

Sylvester said the group was moving from the area near Kampung Sri Darun, Tungku and heading to an area near Abedmas Plantation.

He said the group might stop at the area as the elephants were exhausted after their long journey.

“This is a positive development and the group of elephants are in good condition and under control,” he said, adding that the group of elephants needed to move as far as six or seven kilometers to return to their original habitat at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

On Thursday, the Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Assafal P Alian said his ministry had created a short and long term plans to address this matter.

For the short term plan, the ministry, with the assistance of the Wildlife Department and villagers, would chase out the group of elephants back to their original habitat.

Failing this, the ministry will relocate the group of elephants by capturing and transporting them to their original habitat, which will need more time and cost.

Assafal added that the ministry would also meet nearby plantation owners and suggest to them to install electric fences as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to prevent the elephants from escaping from the reserve.