KOTA KINABALU, Feb 26 — Wildlife rescue officers have been working round the clock for over a month to keep elephants from invading a group of villages in the central district of Telupid.

Wildlife Rescue Unit acting manager Dr. Diana Ramirez said that the villagers in Telupid have been facing the conflict with a big group of elephants of around 20 individuals, with three of them identified to behave aggressively towards people, vehicles and pets.

"The Sabah Wildlife Department and the Wildlife Rescue Unit have been working hard to control the elephant population trying to push them back to the forest away from people and its crops,” said Ramirez, adding that the elephants probably had wandered into the area years back before people settled there.

To date, the unit has successfully managed to capture three individuals and is arranging their translocation away from the conflict areas, while others are being chased into the forest.

"Two of them — one male and one female with a baby — has been fitted with a satellite collar provided by the Danau Girang Field Centre and this will allow the Wildlife Department to track and monitor the movements of these elephants,” she said.

The Wildlife Rescue Unit, a unit fully funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, has been assisting SWD on the capture and translocation of these aggressive individuals.

Ramirez said that the group has been working at the area for so long as it was hard for the team to control all of the elephants, including four babies and two single bulls who are able to divide themselves to search for food.

When asked what caused the elephants to roam into the area, Ramirez said it was normal nomadic behaviour for elephants to wander long distances.

The conflict has so far caused damage to Kampung Gambaron 1, Kampung Gambaron 2, Kampung Batu 4, Kampung Bintang-Mas, Kampung Bauto, Kampung Telupid, SMK Telupid, IPS, Jabatan Pertanian Telupid, Kampung Gaab, Kampung Lubang Batu and Kampung Maliau.

When the elephants were first reported in the area a month ago, the team went in and identified the aggressive individual elephants, which were ordered by Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga to be captured and translocated before further damage occurred.

"The operation has cost to the Wildlife Rescue Unit an amount of RM10,000 and it hasn’t ended yet,” said Ramirez.

As the operation carries on, Sabah Wildlife Department and Wildlife Rescue Unit will still be stationed at the area with assistance from Orangutan Appeal UK, Belia Gambaron and other community members.