Pgymy elephant found dismembered in Tongod, Sabah

TONGOD: The carcass of a Borneo pygmy elephant was found with its limbs amputated while its skin had been peeled off at an oil palm plantation near here.

Sabah Wildlife Department (JHL) director Augustine Tuuga said the carcass of the protected animal was found by a plantation worker near Kampung Imbak on Wednesday morning (Jan 20). The elephant was believed to have been dead for the past four to five days.

"The carcass of the elephant also showed signs of having been shot and having cuts. Body parts such as its head and ivory, except for the trunk, were found.

"A JHL team conducted a post-mortem and found some bullets," he said when contacted by Bernama here tonight.

Tuuga said JHL was investigating the motive for the killing, including whether the act was committed by a hunter.

-- BERNAMA