MORE than 1,000 residents at three villages in Jerantut, Pahang, have been living on the edge over the past week.

They face a risk of being attacked by a herd of 11 wild elephants, which have destroyed more than 50ha of their banana and oil palm smallholdings.

Pulau Tawar asssemblyman Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail said the pachyderm attacks began last Friday, and continued the past week, forcing residents to seek assistance from the Pahang National Parks and Wildlife Department (Perhilitan).

“The animals also destroyed the plants and tried to approach the houses of villagers, prompting us to implement tight controls for the people’s safety.

“Among the affected villages are Kampung Kelola, Kampung Bukit Nikmat and Kampung Batu Leja,” he said yesterday after visiting the affected villagers whose property was destroyed during the incident.

While disclosing that the last time the area faced attacks from wild elephants was in 2003, Ahmad Shukri did not deny that this time, the attacks were the result of extensive forest exploration in nearby areas. 

He said he would propose to the state government to create a protected area for elephants and other wildlife in an area measuring 12,140ha to preserve their habitat.

“We will hold a special meeting on August 22 at Perhilitan in Kuantan to discuss the matter,” he added.

Meanwhile, Pahang Perhilitan director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said his department was devising a way to keep the animals in their habitat to ensure the safety of villagers.

“We believe these wild elephants are from the nearby forest reserve, searching for food, and we must take swift action to prevent the villages from becoming their new habitat,” he noted.

Among the methods used are firecrackers, blue LED lights and firing gunshots into the air to scare the herd from approaching the villages. – Bernama, August 12, 2017.