Have Mercy on Borneo’s gentle giants
The Sunday Daily
February 16, 2021
See link
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/have-mercy-on-borneo-s-gentle-giants-XY6735909
for photo.
SANDAKAN: Clear skies greeted the workers of an oil palm plantation near
Kampung Imbak in Tongod, Kinabatangan, when they reported for work on the
morning of Jan 20 after days of torrential rain.
It was about 8 am when they smelt an awful stench. Following the “trail” of
the smell, they found themselves facing a decomposed and dismembered
carcass of a Borneo pygmy elephant.
Immediately, the Wildlife Rescue Unit of the Sabah Wildlife Department was
called in to investigate.
The brutal killing of the elephant sent shockwaves across Sabah. Two other
cases of elephant deaths were also reported in the state last month, one in
Lahad Datu and the other in Kinabatangan. The cause of death in both cases
is still under investigation.
In the latest case, the heartbreaking sight of the elephant carcass, with
part of its body skinned and limbs severed and scattered, was too gruesome
for the faint-hearted.
What was even more bizarre was that its trunk was missing while its tusks,
known to be valued commodity since ancient times, were intact. Undoubtedly,
it was the worst case in Sabah’s history of recorded animal deaths.
Rataliatory Murder
Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director Augustine Tuuga said while no
arrests have been made, his department was determined to investigate the
elephant’s death and put the perpetrators behind bars.
He said the elephant was estimated to have been dead for four or five days
before its carcass was discovered. He called on the people to channel
information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Elephant killings are not new in Sabah. Since 2010, according to media
reports, 145 cases of elephant deaths have been recorded in Sabah due to
poaching, revenge killing and poisoning, as well as accidents, illnesses
and other unknown reasons.
Twenty-four pygmy elephant deaths were recorded in 2019, with one of the
more shocking cases involving an elephant that was found lying in a ravine
on the banks of Sungai Udin in Kalabakan, Tawau, with 70 bullets embedded
in its body.
And, in the first two months of last year, five pygmy elephants were found
dead due to various causes including injuries and poisoning.
Tuuga said SWD suspected that the recent case in Tongod was a “retaliatory”
murder due to the elephant’s mutilated body parts, but its killers’ motive
was still being investigated.
Don’t Punish the Elephant
Retaliation killings occur in areas where elephant-man conflicts exist,
with farm and plantation owners taking it on themselves to slay the animals
that destroy their crops. Commenting on the discovery of the elephant
carcass in Tongod, Hidzwah Ahmat, 32, who lives in Kampung Abai,
Kinabatangan said:
“I heard elephants had eaten up the villagers’ plants and oil palm. But
killing is no way to punish the creatures.
“The best way to drive away the elephants is by calling the SWD’s Wildlife
Rescue Unit. That was what the residents in my village did.”
He recalled seeing a herd of Borneo pygmy elephants several times in his
village, adding that they frequently trespassed the village cemetery and
ruined the graves.
“I don’t recall any elephant causing harm to humans unless provoked which
is usually the case.
“Despite their intimidating size, these elephants are quite unique. It’s
fun to see them swimming across the Kinabatangan River... a real Sabah
treasure. Their longevity is healthy for Sabah’s forest ecosystem,” he
added.
The first time elephants appeared on the family land of Poliana Sidom, who
is in her 30s and is from Kampung Gambaron, Telupid, was in the middle of
the night. The jumbos had, apparently, made a silent entrance but their
sudden presence spooked Poliana’s family who ran to the police station for
help.
She said the villagers were furious because their oil palm trees were
ravaged and the fruits eaten up by the “intruders”.
“But thanks to dialogues held in my village by several NGOs like Forever
Sabah and Seratu Aatai as well as government agencies, villagers have
learned to put up fences and make alarming sounds like pressing their car
horns to drive the elephants away without harming them,” she said.
Catching the Killers
Investigating the killing of an elephant is one thing but finding out who
the “murderers” are and apprehending them is another. In Sabah, SWD and
wildlife-related non-governmental organisations are known to offer rewards
to individuals who provide information leading to the arrest of the
perpetrators.
Responsible Elephant Conservation Trust (Respect) pro tem chairman
Alexander Yee told Bernama that people, in general, are usually fearful to
lodge reports or offer information on any wrongdoing or individual in
connection with the death of an endangered animal like the Borneo pygmy
elephant.
“Money (cash rewards) can remove those fears and encourage the people to
lodge a report. But it is up to the SWD (to decide on a reward offer). I
recall NGOs offering rewards too,” he said.
Yee suggested that SWD set up a website on elephant deaths in Sabah so that
the people can keep abreast of the developments of cases involving the
endangered species. He said the website should contain information on
deaths, locations of carcass discovery and whether there will be a reward
for informants who provide leads to catch the culprits.
Poliana, meanwhile, admitted that her village folks were afraid to tip-off
the authorities on the whereabouts of jumbo killers. She said not only did
they fear their lives would be in jeopardy if the killers knew of what they
did, but they also felt that sharing vital information with the authorities
was not worth their time and effort.
“If there is an offer of a reward, I think that would be effective in
encouraging people to make a report.
“Sometimes people do not want to make a report, even though they have
information on the killers, but they do not care (to report) because there
is no benefit for them,” she said.
Hidzwah felt a cash reward could encourage locals to step up in finding
information on elephant killings. He said a cash reward would enable an
investigation to be carried out smoothly that could lead to the arrest of
the mammal killers. “Enforcement of the law in wildlife conservation needs
to be firm so that no one will view lightly of the government’s efforts in
protecting wildlife such as the pygmy elephants,” he said.
Sabah Government Honours Promise
The last time the Sabah state government through SWD offered a cash reward
for information on killers of a jumbo was in October 2019 following the
discovery of an elephant carcass riddled with at least 70 gunshot wounds in
Sungai Udin on Sept 25, 2019.
It is understood that the promise of the RM10,000 cash reward, which later
increased to RM30,000 following pledges by anonymous donors and Orangutan
Appeal UK, was honoured after six men were arrested in connection with the
case. However, after police went to the court twice to get a remand order
on the suspects, they were released without being charged, obviously due to
the lack of concrete evidence.
In another case which occurred barely a month after the Sungai Udin case,
the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) offered a reward with a
“price tag” of RM50,000 for information on the death of an elephant that
was discovered without its tusks in an oil palm estate in Beluran on Oct
20, 2019.
The perpetrators were never caught.
Reward for TONGOD Case Information
With regard to last month’s brutal killing of a pygmy elephant in Tongod,
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said so
far, no reward has been offered as the case is still being investigated
However, he said the state government would consider a reward offer, which
he will discuss with SWD. “I will discuss the matter with SWD as they also
have certain standard operating procedures for such cases.
“What’s for sure, we at the ministry that is responsible view this
seriously and call on the community to give their cooperation, give
information and ensure that our wildlife can be taken care of,” he added.
https://www.thesundaily.my/local/have-mercy-on-borneo-s-gentle-giants-XY6735909