LAHAD DATU, Dec 20 — A male pygmy elephant was found dead by a farm worker in an oil palm plantation in Jalan Silam here, yesterday.

Lahad Wildlife Officer (JHL) Datu Hairulnizam Hasnan said the farm worker found the pachyderm, which is a Borneo Elephant, at 1 pm and then lodged a police report.

"The JHL team went to the location and found the elephant dead with no visible signs of injury. A post-mortem on the elephant will be carried out to ascertain the cause of death,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

He urged those with information on the discovery of the dead elephant to come forward to assist in the investigation.

Hairulnizam said the incident raised concerns about the threat facing the Borneo elephant which is an endangered species in Sabah.

The Borneo elephant or Elephas maximus borneensis is classified as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List due to its small and declining population. — Bernama