BENTONG: Rangers from the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary took more than nine hours to bring out three rogue elephants that were captured in a rubber plantation in Kampung Telemong, near Karak, on Monday.
Heavy rain and the hilly terrain made the task more challenging for the 20 rangers and the two tame elephants, Rambai and Abot, who had to execute their plan carefully to prevent the mammals from becoming trapped in mud.
The two bulls and a female elephant caught on April 3 were part of a herd of seven elephants that had caused havoc in an oil palm plantation in Kampung Telemong for more than a year.
The herd had reportedly damaged villagers’ young oil palm trees the night before state Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) officers managed to
locate them in an abandoned rubber plantation located atop a hill.
The elephants were immobilised with tranquilliser darts last week and chained to separate trees, with rangers monitoring them while waiting for the right time to relocate them.
Perhilitan elephant unit head Nasaruddin Othman said the
uneven landscape posed a challenge for his team and the two tame elephants, which had walked almost 300m along a slippery path to guide the three wild elephants to a waiting lorry.
He said last month, the team captured a male elephant which belonged to the same herd. Checks revealed there were six other elephants in the rubber plantation.
“After we trapped the three elephants last week, we decided to capture the remaining three before making plans to bring them out together.
“To avoid untoward incidents, especially since they had been chained for some time, we decided to relocate the three elephants and return later to look for the remaining ones.
“The 3-tonne female elephant is about 30 years old, while the one-tonne male elephants are between 6 and 8 years old.
“The three that are yet to be captured are young,” he said,
He said the elephants, which were in good health, would be relocated to Kenyir National Park in Terengganu.