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| Selendang lost part of its leg after it was caught in a snare trap and has been fitted with a prosthetic limb (AFP Photo/Manan VATSYAYANA) |
A herd of
elephants tramp through jungle before lumbering into a river under the watchful
gaze of their keepers, training at a Malaysian sanctuary for their vital work
in reducing human-animal conflict.
The
sanctuary in Kuala Gandah, central Malaysia, is an area of secluded rainforest
where "mahouts" -- as the keepers are known -- care for a 26-strong
group of endangered Asian elephants.
A handful
were rescued after suffering injuries or being orphaned, but most of them have
been domesticated and trained to aid the National Elephant Conservation
Centre's effort to help elephants who become embroiled in conflicts with
humans.
They
accompany a highly-trained team on their missions to find and subdue fellow
pachyderms whose habitats have been encroached on, and are putting themselves
and villagers at risk.
Since the
centre started operations about 30 years ago, its staff have relocated more
than 700 wild elephants, taking them away from inhabited areas and deep into
the jungle.
Malaysia is
home to vast tracts of rainforest and a kaleidoscope of exotic wildlife, from
elephants to orangutans and tigers, but the numbers of many rare species have
fallen dramatically in recent decades.
Some have
been hunted for their body parts that are then sold on the black market, but a
growing number are falling victim to human-animal conflict -- which happens
when rapid expansion of plantations or development of settlements encroaches on
animals' natural habitats.
Many elephants in Malaysia have been injured or killed after coming into contact with humans when they wander onto the country's ubiquitous palm oil plantations, or enter settlements and eat crops.
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Mahouts
care for a 26-strong group of endangered Asian elephants at the
sanctuary (AFP
Photo/Manan VATSYAYANA)
|
Many elephants in Malaysia have been injured or killed after coming into contact with humans when they wander onto the country's ubiquitous palm oil plantations, or enter settlements and eat crops.
Villagers
and plantation workers sometimes target them, viewing them as pests and not
realising they are endangered and protected by law.
One
elephant among the herd at the 30-acre (12-hectare) sanctuary, Selendang, lost
part of its leg after it was caught in a snare trap, and has been fitted with a
prosthetic limb.
On a recent
visit to the centre, a dozen of the resident elephants marched in single file
with their trunks swinging as their mahouts put them through the paces during a
morning workout.
They
emitted trumpeting sounds before splashing into a river, where the mahouts
scrubbed their bellies and trunks.
There are
believed to be some 1,200 wild Asian elephants in peninsular Malaysia, down
from as many as 1,700 in 2011.
"If
their remaining habitat faces rapid deforestation, I think before the end of
the century, there will be no more wild elephants left," warned Ahimsa
Campos-Arceiz, a Malaysia-based elephant expert.
Malaysia elephant sanctuary trumpets effort to cut human-animal conflict pic.twitter.com/HH6MlFCDKE— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 25, 2018
