A vernal imperil pygmy elephant was shot stagnant on the side of a roadway in a remote village in Malayan Borneo , reports the Agence France Press ( AFP ) . Believed to have been killed after destroying local harvest , the 4 - yr - old male person isreportedlythe third deceased elephant receive in the northerly Borneo dominion in the last eight day .
" ( The elephant ) was vote down out of revenge for destroy crops , " local wildlife section director Augustine Tuuga tell apart the AFP , adding the craw included thenar oil tree . The elephant was found with its tusks inviolate , a sign Tuuga says point he was not killed by poachers intend to sell ivory on the calamitous mart but rather as a “ merciless ” retaliation killing .
" From the perspective of the injury and the trajectory of the pellet , it is highly probable that the elephant was shot from tight range from an high-minded place or from the back of a fomite , ” wildlife official Siti Nur’Ain Ampuan Acheh said in a statement , cover theDaily Sabah .
One adult can wipe out up to 150 kg ( 330 pounds ) of vegetation each twenty-four hours , feeding on palms , grasses , and wild bananas . Feathercollector / Shutterstock
At least 18 pygmy elephant have been pop in Malaysian Borneo since April , according to alocal publication . While some of these deaths have been due tonatural causes , most can be attributed to the originate tension due to human - animal engagement as buffer zone between human settlement and wildlife population keep on to fall . to begin with this year , six Borneo Pigmy elephantswere envenom , but it ’s unclear whether they were intentionally poison or had accidentally eat fertilizer used by nearby laurel wreath oil woodlet .
Borneo ’s forest are among the most biologically divers habitats on Earth , according to theWorld Wildlife Foundation . Here , Pigmy elephant join the ranks of orangutans and clouded leopards as they facedeforestationthreats from timbre , medal petroleum , rubber , and mineral diligence . In the last century , the region has lost over half of its forest , while external demand for palm vegetable oil persist in toincrease . Paired with a growing human universe of around 1 to 3 percent each twelvemonth , these animal are threatened primarily by the high terms tag they bring in on the black market as well as home ground death .
There are estimated to be less than1,500pygmy elephants left in the area . At less than 2.5 meters ( 8 feet ) tall , only some male person and no female pygmy elephant have tusks . Rather , this loosely diffident durian - loving animal is hunt for its meat and leather .
