TEMERLOH: The government will construct an elephant sanctuary in Aman Jaya, Perak, to mitigate the rise in human-pachyderm conflicts.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said that the RM20 million sanctuary, on an area spanning 100ha, will be the third of its kind after the Sungai Deka Elephant Sanctuary in Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu and the Kampung Panti Elephant Sanctuary in Kota Tinggi, Johor.
He said that the country requires another such facility – which will be built under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) – to reduce incidents of elephants encroaching into villages and plantations and negatively affecting the lives of human residents.
“Elephants (which encroach into human settlements) will be caught and released into the sanctuary.
“The exact number of elephants which can be housed at the sanctuary has not been finalised yet, however,” he added.
Xavier said the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has introduced various programmes to minimise human-elephant conflicts, including installing electric fences to prevent the mammals from straying into human settlements.
“These programmes have helped reduce losses from human-elephant conflicts by 44 per cent between 2015 and 2018," he told reporters at the World Elephant Day celebration at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre in Lanchang here, today.
Xavier added that setting up the sanctuary is also vital to reversing the drop in the population of wild elephants in Peninsular Malaysia, which is estimated to be around 2,000. There are about 2,500 elephants in Sabah and Sarawak.
He said that Perhilitan has executed various measures to help tackle the threats faced by pachyderms in country.
"These include increasing patrols to deter poachers from setting snare traps.
“We have also received support from some 2,000 policemen (who) work with Perhilitan rangers. They are equipped with firearms to instil fear in poachers," he added.
Xavier said that the sanctuary would also allow volunteers to participate in various activities to gain hands-on working experience with rescued elephants.
"It would be a great opportunity for all wildlife enthusiasts to work on a short-time basis for the conservation of elephants.
“(The sanctuary) would also expose young children to the animals, the threats they face and the efforts put into protecting them," he added.
At the celebration today, award-winning actress Maya Karin was appointed "The Voice of Wildlife" to assist the ministry and Perhilitan in organising volunteer activities and spread information related to wildlife conservation.