Wild male Asian elephant caught after a three-year hunt

KUALA KLAWANG: A wild male Asian elephant, weighing over three tonnes and known among the villagers in Kampung Gagu, Kuala Klawang here as "Buyung Gagu", has been caught by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) on Thursday after he escaped their first attempt three years ago.

"We spotted the mammal in the forest near Triang Dam a few days ago and today, our rangers managed to shoot him with a dose of sedative," Negeri Sembilan Perhilitan director Mohd Zaide Mohamad Zain told reporters at the scene, here Thursday.


Buyung Gagu

He said three female elephants from the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang, were also brought into the forest to pull the sedated 40-year-old male elephant out.

The elephant would be transported to the National Park later Thursday, he said.

Approximately 25 Perhilitan rangers were involved in the operation.

Meanwhile, Kampung Gagu village head Saad Harun said the wild elephant had been living alone in the forest over the past few years.

"Since 2009, probably due to the construction of the dam, the elephant began to threaten the village and our crops. It scared the villagers and this prompted us to ask for Perhilitan's help," he said.

Also present during the operation, which began at 9am and ended at 1pm, was Chennah assemblyman Datuk Siow Chen Pin. - Bernama