Status of Borneo pygmy elephant upgraded

KOTA KINABALU: The status of Sabah’s Bornean pygmy elephant will be upgraded to Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Totally Protected Animals under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 of the State.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Colloquium 2012 held at the Le Meridien here yesterday, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said his ministry had decided to upgrade the status of the species which is presently protected under Part 1 Schedule 2 of the same enactment.

The status upgrade was part of the objectives in the Sabah Elephant Action Plan 2012-2016, he said.

Masidi said that with the upgrade, the issue of the ‘no kill for elephant’ will not arise anymore.

“If you kill, you will go to jail. There is a requirement of a jail sentence. The penalty requires a jail sentence of between six months and five years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said that in the species present status, the penalty for killing an elephant is a fine of RM30,000 and/or imprisonment of three years.

He said that they had prosecuted a lot of cases involving the killing of elephants in Sabah.

However, he did not have the figure on hand.

He also said that prosecution was difficult as they needed concrete evidence before they could prosecute someone.

“Very often, they are not (prosecuted) and they get away scot-free. Evidence is hard to find,” he said.

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Sanctuary for displaced elephants, other wildlife in Sabah soon

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) is in the process of establishing a Borneo Pygmy Elephant Sanctuary at Lot 8, Kinabatangan.

Sabah Wildlife director Dr Laurentius Ambu told press members yesterday after the opening of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Colloqium 2012 that the 2,000-hectare sanctuary would be used to house displaced elephants and other wildlife.

The sanctuary has received an initial funding of RM5 million from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and RM1.5 million from a Japanese non-governmental organisation.

He said that the establishment of the sanctuary is crucial as 60 per cent of elephants in Sabah are located outside of protected areas and presently, some 60 to 100 elephants are waiting to be rescued at the Kalabakan and Tingkayu areas.

He added that the sanctuary will begin operation sometime this year.

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Sabah Government Extends Condolences Over Elephant Attack

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government today extended its condolences to the family of an Australian tourist who was gored to death by an elephant in Lahad Datu yesterday, and advised all quarters against pointing fingers over the incident.

"It is an unfortunate incident resulting in the loss of a young life. On behalf of the Sabah government, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to the parents and family of Jenna Donley," said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Veterinarian Jenna O'Grady Donley, 26, was gored to death by a bull pygmy elephant at the Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary at about 8.30 am as she was taking photographs of the lone animal.

"I have just been informed by the management of the Tabin Wildlife Resort where Jenna was staying that they are doing everything they can to assist the family, and the Australian High Commission is making arrangements to fly Jenna's body for burial in her hometown," Masidi said

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Family says Sydney woman killed by elephant in Borneo was 'gifted'

AN Australian woman who died after being gored by an elephant in Malaysia was a gifted veterinarian with a keen interest in wild animals, her mother says.

Sydney-based vet Jenna O'Grady Donley was attacked by a pygmy elephant in a remote wildlife park on the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo yesterday.

The 25-year-old was trekking with a friend and a local guide in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah state when the elephant turned on them.

Her mother Liz Donley said the sanctuary said it was a very unusual occurrence.

She said Jenna and her friend were very respectful of animals' environments but believed the group had startled the bull elephant.

"Bull elephants are fast, they can move with unpredictability, and they're aggressive and they're protective,'' Ms Donley told ABC radio today.

"This was an animal by itself and they startled it.

"This is an accident that's happened, a very tragic accident.''

Her daughter had a keen interest in large animals and had volunteered in Africa to help injured animals at a wildlife sanctuary.

She had recently completed a thesis on renal failure in big cats, which her mother said would hopefully assist in finding a cure.

"Jenna was a very gifted child in the veterinary science field,'' Ms Donley said.

"Like a lot of the students that attend veterinary science they have to have a mixture of passion, intelligence and a complete devotion to the health of animals.''

Ms Donley said losing her only child at the age of 25 was difficult but she hoped Jenna's work would leave a lasting legacy.

"It has happened and from that we have to move on with a positive note - that from Jenna's work and from the type of person that she was, we know that she had many friends, good family - and someone else now will take on that research and continue it.''

One of young vet's university internship supervisors, Edla Arzey, said she had great potential.

"She was a very talented student, she was full of life, full of adventure, and this is what got her into trouble,'' Ms Arzey told AAP.

"She was doing something she really wanted to do, she was certainly enjoying everything here, interested in absolutely everything

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Conservation boost for pygmy elephants in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Efforts to establish forest corridors along the lower Kinabatangan region – where isolated groups of wildlife are under threat – have received a boost with the recent collaring of five Borneo pygmy elephants.

Wildlife researchers said the four female and one male pachyderm would provide researchers with crucial information on the available elephant habitat in the region.

Dr Benoit Goosens of the wildlife research unit, Danau Girang Field Centre, said: “Extensive agriculture through oil palm plantations has considerably reduced the habitat of elephants in Kinabatangan, increasing human-elephant conflict.

“The herd there, estimated at about 200 to 250, is having difficulty moving between flooded lands, swamps, fenced plantations, villages and nature lodges,” he said yesterday.

To complicate matters, Dr Goosens said uncontrolled tourism with up to 20 boats along riverbanks increased the pressure on the elephants when they drink from the river.

“It is time we act to re-establish quality habitat and provide space for the elephants in the Kinabatangan region,” he added.

Three Bornean elephants were fitted with a satellite collar last week in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary as part of a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department, the non-governmental organisation HUTAN and the centre.

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Stalking pygmy elephants

We are on the hunt for Bornean pygmy elephants. It's a warm, steamy afternoon as we board a small safari riverboat and set off upstream along the mighty Kinabatangan River in Sabah, North Borneo, to stalk these Asian elephants - but only to view and shoot pictures.

I ask our guide about the thunderstorm brewing in the distance. "Oh, nothing to be concerned about," she replies. "That storm going other way downriver."

Sure enough, as we motor upstream, the storm moves away to the east. We glide gently along the wide river, passing crocodiles basking on the muddy riverbanks while colourful kingfishers perch in the branches.

Boats from other lodges are also searching for the pygmy elephants and word soon spreads of a sighting on a grassy bend on the river. The tall grass begins to move and a trumpet blast is heard. A family of wild elephants slowly emerge from the grass, tearing and munching as they go.

From the boat's viewing platform we can see adults, adolescents and babies in the herd of about 12. One of the younger elephants slides down the bank to take a bath in the river near our boat.

Kinabatangan is Sabah's longest river, flowing from the mountains to the Sulu Sea, and its lower reaches support one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. During the wet season, the basin becomes the biggest forested floodplain in Malaysia and animals and plants thrive there thanks to its status as a long-established nature sanctuary.

Apart from the elephants, wildlife such as orang-utans, long-tailed and proboscis monkeys, Sumatran rhinoceros, crocodiles, otters, tree snakes and many bird species, including eight species of hornbill, can be seen from a river safari boat.

On our way back to our river resort, we stop to view families of proboscis monkeys, huge-bellied, big-nosed primates with long white tails who live by the river and are most active during dusk or dawn, when they socialise or forage for food.

Earlier, I had checked in at the Myne Resort with my wife, Robyn. Set on a hill overlooking a bend in the river two hours from Sandakan, the family-run resort feels like an undiscovered treasure. It's one of a handful of small jungle lodges near the villages of Bilit and Sukau, though it is newer than most and a little more up-market.

Tucked amid the jungle, the well-appointed wooden chalets have ensuites and are connected via pathways to the open-air dining and reception area and viewing deck.

Just after sunset, we arrive back at the resort's floating jetty and prepare for an alfresco dinner of delicious local cuisine. As we eat, wild pigs emerge from the jungle to graze on the nearby grass.

The following morning, we embark on a downriver safari cruise. Through a soft mist we can hear birdsong and animal calls. Fishermen wave from the bank as they check their prawn traps. We spot a male orang-utan eating fruit in a fig tree. He proves to be rather bashful, turning his back on us and hiding his face but sneaking the odd glance at our boat. Our guide, Vivian, says his behaviour is unusual and speculates that he's noticed Robyn's red hair and thinks she is a female orang-utan. I manage to click a few pictures of him showing his face.

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Corridor of hope for Borneo elephants at Sukau

KOTA KINABALU: A re-established forest corridor measuring 1km by 50m at Bukit Melapi at Sukau in the east coast Kinabatangan district will offer hope for the area's Borneo elephants.

The move became a reality recently with the support of two companies Syarikat Yu Kwang Development Sdn Bhd and Proboscis Lodge Bukit Melapi.

The re-establishment of the corridor will allow for the smooth movement of around 200 elephants through Lots 1, 3 and 4 of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

The corridor is part of the animals' ancestral migration route which has been disrupted in recent years due to deforestation, said Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) director Dr Laurentius Ambu.

He also commended the two companies for their contributions to elephant conservation at the Lower Kinabatangan.

The efforts, aimed at addressing the impact of large-scale oil palm plantation development and logging practices to wildlife species particularly the orang utan and the Borneo elephants was coordinated by the Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) and SWD.

BCT conservation and research division head Raymond Alfred said habitat fragmentation was the main threat to elephant conservation in Sabah.

He said linking habitats via forest corridors would prevent the fragmentation and isolation of the elephant population.

“Population isolation makes the species more prone to genetic drift and inbreeding. It also increases the threat of human-elephant conflict within the area,” he said.

Another species facing decline at the Lower Kinabatangan is the orang utan due to the conversion of degraded forests into large-scale plantations.

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New Borneo sanctuary for pygmy elephants

Borneo's pygmy elephants have been offered a sanctuary in the form of a 1,100-square mile forest.

The endangered elephants will be able to make a home for themselves in a certified area of Borneo's rainforest, thanks to a scheme from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent third party supplier of wood products, ensures that wood-products are sourced from forests that are managed in a way that allows indigenous animals and plant life to survive.

Thanks to this pledge, pygmy elephants - who are named for their relatively small stature in comparison to other Asian elephants - have a new sanctuary in the heart of Borneo.

Borneo is an island rich with wildlife, and the popular pygmy elephants live side by side with Sumatran rhinos, clouded leopards and orang-utans.

The WWF has been fighting to preserve the natural rainforest in the region for a number of years.

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Good news for orangutan and pygmy elephants in the Heart of Borneo

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Orang-utan and Pygmy Elephant survival in the Heart of Borneo has received a major boost with the certification of nearly 300,000 hectares of important habitat in the forest reserves of Ulu Segama-Malua and Tangkulap-Pinangah, in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sites are considered to have the highest density in the world of Orangutan sub-species, Pongo pygmaeus morio, and the Borneo pygmy elephant. The area also includes the 34,000 hectare Malua Biobank, an innovative public-private financial partnership pioneered by the Sabah government and its Forestry Department that brings business investment into conservation management.

FSC certification is considered the most credible global sustainable forest management standard that harnesses social and environmental as well as economic benefits.

The announcement was made on June 28, as part of the largest ever tri-annual FSC General Assembly, held for the first time in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

All Sabah forestry consessions certified by 2014

Sabah’s Forestry Department (SFD) has been recognised by WWF as a leader in the pursuit of sustainable forestry in the Heart of Borneo and has imposed a deadline of 2014 for certification of all forestry concessions in the state.

SFD director, Datuk Sam Mannan, said the announcement quadrupled the area of land under FSC certification in Sabah and he hoped it would encourage other concession holders to pursue certification based on an internationally recognized standard such as the FSC, before its 2014 deadline.

WWF Malaysia CEO Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma, congratulated SFD on this remarkable achievement.

“FSC certification is a crucial part of independent third party verification of sustainable forest management and its critical role in sustaining viable populations of some of the world’s most endangered wildlife here in the Heart of Borneo, one of the most bio-diverse areas on the planet,” he said.

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