- A total of ten of the creatures have been discovered in the forest reserve rare Gunung, Borneo, during the last three weeks
- Conservation officials believe the endangered animal had been poisoned
- It is estimated that less than 1.500 Borneo Pygmy elephants in existence
A baby Pygmy elephant tries in vain to wake his mother, one of ten elephants endangered species found dead in a forest in Malaysia.
Experts believe that the rare Pygmy elephant, whose bodies were found in the forest reserve of Gunung rare in the State of Sabah, Borneo, they had been poisoned.
Wildlife officials rescued this three-month-old elephant calf, She was found pasted next to his mother dead in the jungle.
Seven females and three males elephants, all from the same family group, have been found dead in the last three weeks.
The Minister of environment Sabah Masidi Manjun said the cause of death appears to be poisoning, but it was not clear if the animals had been deliberately killed.
It is believed that there are less than 1.500 Pygmy elephants of Borneo in freedom.
Many of them have been killed for their fangs in recent years..
“This is a very sad day for conservation in Sabah. The death of these majestic elephants of Borneo, in danger of extinction, It is a great loss to the State, said Mr Masidi in a statement.
“If, effectively, These poor elephants were poisoned with malice, I assure you that the culprits will be brought to justice and will pay for his crime.
Borneo Pygmy elephant live mainly in Sabah and grows up to the 2,5 m high, half a meter lower than mainland Asian elephants.
Known for their faces, big ears and long tails, the Pygmy elephants were found to be a distinct subspecies, after DNA tests conducted in the year 2003.
Their numbers have stabilized in recent years after conservation efforts to protect their rainforest habitats threatened by plantations and development projects..
Elephants found dead this month is believed to be from the same family group and aged between the 4 and 20 years, said Senator Nathan, Veterinary Department of wildlife.
Post-mortem examinations showed that they had suffered severe bleeding and ulcers in their gastrointestinal tracts.. None of them had gunshot wounds..
“We suspected it could be some kind of acute poisoning from something they had eaten., but we are still waiting for the lab results, said Sr. Nathan.
Via: dailymail
