KOTA KINABALU, June 29 — Authorities here have confirmed that two Borneo pygmy elephants at the government’s Lok Kawi Wildlife Park died in the last two months.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga, in response to a Star report, said an adolescent elephant rescued 13 years ago from Lahad Datu’s Yapid plantation and a four-year-old calf died on June 27 and May 7 respectively.
The deaths come as a surprise following assurances from the authorities that all is well at the wildlife park following criticism that the facility was mismanaged and animals were neglected.
Tuuga said that a full statement will be released by the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry soon.
The report by The Star quoted a source as saying that veterinarians could not determine the elephants’ cause of death during their post-mortems.
“It is understood that the calf, which was born in captivity, was sick for a while before it died.
“The incident of deaths in captivity was worrying and needs to be addressed immediately,” said the source.
In early June, Friends of the Orangutans director Upreshpal Singh raised the alarm about the welfare of animals at the park, but when Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew paid a visit on June 21, there was no mention of the sick or dead elephants.
She later said that the animals appeared to be well taken care of, even suggesting that some may “need to go on a diet” due to their weight.
Borneo pygmy elephants are among Sabah’s most endangered animals, with a number found dead in the wild in recent years, either due to poaching or other reasons caused by the encroachment of humans onto their natural habitat.
