Pygmy elephants tagged in hunt for survival

Head found in river
Earlier this year, a female elephant’s head was found floating in a river. Wildlife experts believe the animal was killed by villagers for the meat.

WWF is focusing its project on Danum Valley, a commercial logging forest and one of three areas where the elephants roam. It says the elephants of Danum appear to have adapted to the logging, avoiding areas where trees are being felled.

It hopes its study will gather enough data to persuade the state government not to let palm oil plantations encroach on the valley.

“In Sabah, we are at a point where if you have proper planning you can show how conservation can benefit both humans and animals,” said Williams.

Swimming through leeches
But collaring the elephants isn’t easy; they melt into the foliage like ghosts, scared off by the slightest sound.

“It is very difficult to catch the elephants,” said Tambing, a Sabah Wildlife Department ranger, resting after a four-hour hunt that led to the darting of Taliwas in leech-infested knee-deep swamp.

“You need to be very fit to trek though that,” he said, pulling out blood-engorged leeches from his arm, neck and armpits. “And you need to be very, very quiet when you approach the elephants.”

Collars are routinely fitted on animals including Asian and African elephants for conservation studies and are not known to cause discomfort.

As Taliwas recovered from the tranquilizer, she shook her head, uttered a deep growl and walked off into the forest, seemingly unbothered by her high-tech necklace.

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