Preliminary reports link dead elephants in Kluang to Bandar Tenggara herd

KUALA LUMPUR: Preliminary reports indicate that a cow and three bull elephants recently found dead in Kluang, Johor, belonged to the Bandar Tenggara herd, which roamed the Lenggor, Kluang and Kluang Tambahan, Labir and Sembrong forest reserves in Johor, and Taman Negara Endau Rompin in Pahang.

The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said these primary habitats were surrounded by agricultural areas, plantations, and residential settlements.

“I would like to emphasise that elephant habitats and roaming areas are crucial to support the elephant population, as habitat loss due to land use changes for agriculture, plantations, settlements, urbanisation, and infrastructure development results in human-elephant conflicts.

“Human-elephant conflicts can lead to the destruction of agricultural crops, property damage, injuries, and loss of life,” he said in a statement on Monday (June 3).

On Saturday (June 1), Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Aminuddin Jamin reported that post-mortems would be conducted to determine the cause of death of the four elephants found dead in a fruit orchard in Kahang Timur, Kluang.

Nik Nazmi urged anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Perhilitan through their hotline at 1-800-88-5151.

“Further investigations are underway, and Perhilitan is also conducting inspections and monitoring around the area,” he said.

He noted that according to Perhilitan’s records, 646 human-elephant conflict complaints were reported in Johor from 2020 to May 2024, with 292 complaints involving the Kluang district.

According to Nik Nazmi, current data estimates the elephant population in Johor to be between 120 and 160.

“Elephants are one of the country’s iconic wildlife species and are fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716),” he said.

Nik Nazmi highlighted that the government is continuously proactive in preserving and conserving wildlife habitats, including for elephants, through several initiatives such as developing the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan 2023-2030, establishing the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Lanchang, Pahang, and intensifying efforts to gazette forested areas as Permanent Forest Reserves. – BK