BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Kuala Lumpur, TAG – Malaysian wildlife authorities said Monday they had rescued a pygmy elephant
calf on Borneo island and expressed hope a planned sanctuary would provide protection for the
endangered animals.
The
male calf, which is less than a month old, was pulled out of a deep moat
surrounding a palm oil plantation in remote Sabah state on Friday, said Sen
Nathan, a senior official with the Sabah Wildlife Department.
It
is the fifth calf rescued by wildlife officials since 2009. Three of those
previously saved have died but a female has recovered and is now at a wildlife
park.
There
are fewer than 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants left in the wild, according to
authorities. A sub-species of the Asian elephant, the creatures have a rounded
appearance and are smaller than mainland elephants.
The
latest rescued calf, which weighed about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), was in a
serious condition, Nathan told AFP.
"He
suffered severe dehydration and cuts and abrasions, probably while trying to
get out of the moat," he said.
The
elephant's mother was probably forced to leave it behind after the pair fell
into the moat, and the calf likely spent more than a day there before being
spotted by plantation workers, he said.
Nathan
said a planned elephant sanctuary on 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of land
within the 26,000-hectare Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary in Sabah would help
protect the animals.
The
sanctuary would be able to house up to 60 injured elephants, as well as those
found when they were too young to be reintroduced into the wild.
Authorities
announced plans for the sanctuary earlier this month and want it open by the
end of the year. "We really need this sanctuary," Nathan said.
The
sanctuary will be funded with 5.3 million ringgit ($1.7 million) from industry
body the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and 1.5 million ringgit from NGO the Borneo
Conservation Trust.
Wildlife activists warn that pygmy elephants are fast
losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment on Borneo,
a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.[]
Related articles:
Endangered Pygmy Elephant Saved on Borneo
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