DEPUTY Chief Minister Christina Liew hopes that the police’s Tiger Platoon squad will be mobilised soon to assist the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) to protect wildlife, especially elephants, and put an end to the senseless killings of animals once and for all.

Liew, who is also Sabah tourism, culture and environment minister, said she was at a loss for words on the spate of elephant deaths in Sabah this year. 

“It has not even been two weeks since we received reports of an adult male elephant being found dead with its tusks removed in Beluran, and now, we are facing yet another elephant death, only this time in Kinabatangan,” she said in a statement today.

Liew said Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga had told her that, from post-mortem findings, it was likely the elephant was killed as its front legs were cut off by a sharp object. 

She said based on the length of the intact front leg bone (ulna) that was recovered, the probable height of the elephant was estimated to be a 1.8m adult bull elephant. 

“We do not know if the tusks were taken as the head was missing. It’s also believed that this elephant had been dead for more than a week and since it was floating in the river, it will be quite challenging to find out where the elephant actually died,” she said.

The carcass of a Borneo Pygmy elephant was found floating down from the upper reaches of the Kinabatangan river on Sunday.

On Monday, Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador had said the General Operations Force’s Tiger Platoon unit would be tasked with assisting the wildlife and forestry authorities to protect Malaysia’s flora and fauna.

Liew said the SWD and Kinabatangan police were working closely to solve the case.

She added the case was disheartening and did not bode well for the survival of the species.

“If this carries on, we might be looking at another extinction of a large mammal in Sabah.

“We must not let this happen. I will not let this happen. We need to work together with all stakeholders to make sure we do not let the elephants go the same way the rhinos did.” – Bernama, November 6, 2019.