Perhilitan captures elephant causing trouble to village residents

JELI: The Kelantan Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has managed to capture a wild elephant believed to be destroying villagers' crops together with a herd of about five elephants at Kampung Lawar, Batu Melintang, here.
Its director Mohamad Khairi Ahmad said the male elephant, weighing 2.5 tonnes, was captured last Friday and would be relocated to a more suitable habitat with the assistance of the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang.
Mohamad Khairi, when contacted, said another two male elephants believed to be from the same herd were captured in mid April and June in Kampung Salor, Batu Melintang and Kampung Dendong, Batu Melintang, respectively.
Kampung Lawar resident, Aidi Abdul Rahman, 50, said the elephant which was captured last Friday, had entered the village area from an area which has yet to be installed with an electric fence.
"Apart from the captured elephants, the villagers here have also bumped into three other elephants which have breached into a rubber estate. We are worried that the remaining elephants from the herd will come again through the area without the fence," he said.
A 10.5km electric fence had been installed by the Perhilitan from Kampung Lata Janggut until Kampung Batu Melintang, here, to prevent the elephants from entering the villages. — Bernama