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BENTONG: It took the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre (NECC) more than nine hours to relocate three elephants that was captured in a rubber plantation in Kampung Telemong, Bentong yesterday.
Under the leadership of the Director of NECC Nashruddin Othman, he and 20 of his staff embarked on the operation that began at 11am with the assistance of two decoys named Rambai and Abot, however the heavy downpour in the afternoon added more challenge to the operation.
Nashruddin shared with Harian Metro that the operation began on April 3, after they received complaints from locals – who claimed that the gentle giants were destroying their palm trees.
He added that after invading the villager’s crop fields, the group of seven elephants – led by an adult female – sought refuge at the rubber plantation of the village.
The operations successfully caught a female elephant aged between 30 and 40 years old that weighed approximately three tonnes (3,000kg) as well as two male elephants aged between six and eight years old and weighing a tonne each (1,000kg).
“Last month, we managed to capture a bull elephant that’s believed to be from the same group that was recently caught. I believe there are still three elephants hiding in the rubber plantations,” Nashruddin told Harian Metro.
“The operation will continue to capture the remaining elephants to ensure that they do not destroy the local residents’ palm trees,” while highlighting that NECC is incessantly trying their best to resolve human-elephant conflicts (HEC).
Nashruddin stated that the operation to relocate the three elephants stumbled upon a roadblock as they were located on a hill and as such, the elephant decoys are forced to ‘pull’ the wild elephants as far as 300 metres before they entered the lorry.
Initially, Nashruddin and his team planned on capturing all the elephants and relocate them simultaneously but to prevent the emergence of unwanted predicaments to the animals, the team decided to move the first three elephants promptly.
“The three elephants were captured and relocated to the Kenyir National Park, Terengganu and operations to track, while the capture of the remaining three elephants will resume.
“I assure that the three remaining elephants that are still at large will be arrested as they are still young elephants and detecting them will be easier,” he emphasised.
The NECC director stated that although the operation to track, capture and relocate the elephants requires vast expenditures, but he highlighted that it should be done for the safety of the people.
Last month, Malaysian Digest reported that two bull elephants sent villagers of Kampung Jaya, Lahad Datu into a frenzy as they destroyed the villager’s crop but was fortunately relocated to the Kawag Forest Reserve by the Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit and the Sabah Wildlife Department.