KOTA KINABALU: A lack of credible witnesses, the distance of the killing and the absence of elephant parts are hindering progress in the probe of a hacked Bornean elephant.
The animal was found dead in a forest reserve in Tongod.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said as of now, investigators still have no fresh leads into this brutal murder.
He said the incident happened in the middle of the jungle where the chances for someone to have witnessed the killing were slim.
"Therefore, the investigating parties have to gather their information using indirect means, which they hope can be used as a starting point for further investigations," he said.
Jafry said this will take time, more so with the possibility that the hacked elephant head and its tusks were buried far from the actual murder site.
He said a proper arrest of suspects is not possible at this moment due to many factors, including the absence of the missing elephant parts.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar explained that there were no issues with getting cooperation from estate workers, operators or local communities.
Instead, he noted that the evidence needed to move forward was simply hard to get.
"We are working with the police and other agencies handling wildlife crime in this matter as well," he said.
An adult Bornean elephant was found killed with its head hacked off in an L-shape and its tusks missing on May 17.
The department believes this could be the act of ivory poachers.
In response to the matter, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia said this killing is concerning and a warning that wildlife in the state continues to be under threat.
WWF Malaysia executive director cum chief executive officer Sophia Lim condemned the cruel killing, adding that this case cannot be isolated.
She said collaborative action must be taken to address and prevent it from happening again.
She said the evident clue that this is an organised crime for the ivory trade required not just stronger enforcement, but also faster coordination across agencies.
She added that it also required greater intelligence-sharing and full public support to close the gaps that poachers exploit.
Lim said elephants are an irreplaceable part of Sabah’s natural heritage because as a keystone species and ecosystem engineers, they play a vital role in seed dispersal, forest regeneration and biodiversity maintenance.
"If we lose them, we lose the ecological balance and resilience of our forests and the future they support," she said.
"This is a moment for all of us including the government, communities, civil society, and the public to act decisively," she added.
Wildlife Protection Unit Lead of WWF Malaysia Sharon Koh said the initial evidence points to a deliberate killing to remove the tusks.
She said the modus operandi, together with the condition in which this elephant was found, are deeply concerning indicators of how these networks operate.
She said Sabah’s forests are vast and complex, making it impossible to monitor every area at all times despite enforcement agencies doing their best under challenging conditions.
Koh said with only an estimated 1,000 Bornean elephants remaining in Sabah, every single loss is significant.
"WWF Malaysia calls for an urgent effort to protect Sabah’s Bornean elephants through the coordinated and collective will of the government, communities, civil society, and the public," she stressed.
Source: lack-of-clues-slowing-probe-into-brutal-elephant-killing-says-sabah-state-minister
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