Search underway for killer wild elephant in Johor
Jassmine Shadiqe, New StraitsTimes
September 27, 2024
See link
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/09/1111631/search-underway-killer-wild-elephant-johor
for photo.
MERSING: Search teams, including air units and jungle trackers, are
actively searching for an elephant that trampled two men, resulting in one
fatality and one critical injury.
The incident occurred at Felda Tenggaroh Timur 1 here yesterday.
State Health and Environment Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said
officers from the Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan)
needed to find the elephant and relocate it to a forest reserve as a
precautionary measure, considering the safety of the villagers residing in
the area.
Yesterday, two school contract cleaners were attacked by a lone elephant
that wandered behind a school in the Felda settlement after they attempted
to chase it away with sticks.
However, the beast became agitated by the cleaners' screams and aggressive
attempts to scare it away, leading to the attack.
Ling said the deceased was identified as Mohamad Syafik Yakob, 31, while
Zalini Dahalan, 49, who is in critical condition, was undergoing treatment
at Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Baru.
"The elephant was spotted earlier in the morning, but the victims took
matters into their own hands and attempted to chase it away at 11am,
despite being warned to leave it alone.
"Perhilitan officers arrived at the scene about noon, and immediately
deployed drones to search for the mammal. However, their efforts were
unsuccessful as it had already fled further into the forest.
"The search effort is ongoing… The elephant will be relocated into the
forest reserve to ensure similar incidents will not reoccur," he told the
"New Straits Times" when contacted today.
He said wild animals should never be provoked under any circumstance.
"Do not attempt to get close to it (wild animal). Instead, leave the area
and quickly contact the Perhilitan authorities, as they are experts in
dealing with wildlife.
"Never attempt to chase wild animals away," he said, adding that this could
escalate the situation and potentially result in serious injury or death.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/09/1111631/search-underway-killer-wild-elephant-johor