KOTA KINABALU: More trained rangers are needed to be stationed on the ground to help protect Sabah’s endangered wildlife from becoming the target of poachers.
This follows the latest discovery of two Bornean pygmy elephant carcases in the last two weeks ago, which raised concern among the public and wildlife conservationists over ongoing instances of wildlife poaching.
WWF-Malaysia, in a statement today, said the organisation along with HUTAN – a non-governmental group that conducts Orang Utan conservation programme – and the Danau Girang Field Centre were wholly committed to ensure the survival of Borneo elephants and other endangered wildlife.
“We will collaborate and assist Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, and plantations by sharing intelligence on suspicious activities so poaching entry points can be identified in order to develop more efficient enforcement strategies, such as joint patrols.
“To implement these strategies, the Sabah government needs to allocate more funds to hire and train more rangers on the ground as their constant and tactical presence is a deterrent to poachers,” it said.
WWF noted that there were at least six reported pachyderm deaths, including the recent discovery, in the state’s east coast in the last 12 months.
Last year, a male elephant carcass was found in Kinabatangan in October while two others were found dead with their tusks missing in a plantation bordering the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve.
One of the carcasses was a bull nicknamed ‘Sabre’ due to its unique inward-facing tusks.
In August this year, a female elephant died of multiple gunshot wounds in a plantation in Kinabatangan.
Today, Sabah Wildlife Department confirmed that a male calf was found dead on Sept 10 in a plantation in Dumpas, Tawau, while a tuskless bull carcass was found floating in Kinabatang river last Monday.
“There are three main reasons why Sabah’s elephants keep ending up dead - a huge demand for ivory, human-elephant conflict, and because no one has ever been caught and prosecuted for killing an elephant.
“Everyone in Sabah needs to see wildlife crime as a serious offence, on par with the murder of humans, because as it is, we don’t seem to care too much that poachers keep getting away scot-free every time they murder our beloved elephants.
“Their brazenness is a huge mockery of the species’ Totally Protected status, and the legally-protected status of our forest reserves and conservation areas,” stressed WWF.
The organisation also encouraged the public to continue to play their role in reporting wildlife crime to Sabah Wildlife Department.
“If the public chooses to remain silent, it sends a strong signal to the poachers that Sabahans are supporting the murder of their elephants,” it said.