Six Pygmy Elephants Found Dead On Malaysian Borneo
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published May 21, 2018 | 11:50 AM
Six Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in Malaysian palm oil plantations in recent weeks, officials said Monday, the latest of the endangered creatures to perish as their rainforest habitat is devastated
Kuala Lumpur, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :Six Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in Malaysian palm oil plantations in recent weeks, officials said Monday, the latest of the endangered creatures to perish as their rainforest habitat is devastated.
The carcasses of the elephants, aged between one and 37, were discovered at different locations in Sabah state on Borneo island, local wildlife department director Augustine Tuuga told AFP. "We are currently conducting tests on their internal organs," he said, adding the carcasses did not have any signs of gunshot wounds.
Tuuga said the elephants could have accidently consumed fertiliser in the palm oil plantations, which could have poisoned them.
The Star newspaper, citing conservationists, said the creatures might have drunk from poisoned watering holes.
There are about 2,000 pygmy elephants, the smallest type of elephant in Asia, in the wild. Late last year three were killed by poachers. In 2013 14 pygmy elephants were found dead in Sabah and were thought to have been poisoned.
They are threatened by widespread logging of their natural habitat to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations, and are targeted by poachers as their ivory fetches a high price on the black market. The pygmy elephants are baby-faced with oversized ears, plump bellies and tails so long they sometimes drag on the ground as they walk.
Recent Stories
Five killed, 1,351 injured in Punjab road accidents
President urges Australian companies to invest in Pakistan
Nazeer Tarar introduces (The Tax Law Amendment Bill 2024)
Spain PM under pressure as wife faces graft probe
UUVAS arranges seminar to commemorate Allama Iqbal
Vaccines save at least 154 million lives in 50 years: WHO
Young officers visit PID for briefing on govt principal public relations agency
RUDA takes stern action against pyrolysis plants, dismantles five
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Shanghai
PM Shehbaz asked to extend hand to Imran Khan, India
BISE Hyderabad to announce HSC-Il result exams on April 25
ARI calls for comprehensive measures to curb tobacco use
More Stories From World
-
Spain PM under pressure as wife faces graft probe
15 minutes ago -
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Shanghai
24 minutes ago -
N. Macedonia starts elections that could decide stalled EU talks
58 minutes ago -
Haaland ruled out of Man City's crucial trip to Brighton
58 minutes ago -
Four dead as floods wreak havoc in Kenyan capital
58 minutes ago -
Thousands in heatwave-hit Bangladesh pray for rain
1 hour ago
-
EU urges probe into reported mass graves at Gaza hospitals
2 hours ago -
Gucci owner Kering's shares sink after profit warning
2 hours ago -
Extreme heat scorches Southeast Asia, bringing school closures and warnings
2 hours ago -
Ambassador Hashmi greets China on Space Day
2 hours ago -
Mass cancellations loom despite French air union calling off strike
2 hours ago -
Record-breaking London stocks spearhead global rally
2 hours ago