Probe into dead elephants, turtles
KUALA LUMPUR: Wildlife officials are investigating the cases of two pygmy elephants which were found dead without their tusks in eastern Sabah and that of green turtles found butchered on the shores of Pulau Bum Bum in Semporna.
Danau Girang Field Centre director Benoit Goossens said one of the elephants was found near the Kinabatangan river and another at an oil palm plantation in Tawau, Sabah.
He said there may be a possibility the elephants were hunted for their tusks.
In the past six months, six pygmy elephants, which included the special sabre tusk jumbo, had been killed.
Sabah has been facing the threat of wildlife poaching, especially of its endangered elephants which number around 2,000 in eastern Sabah forests.
The Sabah Wildlife Department said they have no new leads or suspects behind the killing.
Wildlife officials are also probing the case of green turtles found butchered on the shores of Pulau Bum Bum in Semporna, which was highlighted in a social media post on Wednesday.
At least nine dead turtles were seen in the photo uploaded on Facebook.
Wildlife officials are checking on the post and have launched an investigation into the deaths.
It is believed that the people responsible were only after the eggs and discarded the carcasses. – by Elly Fazaniza