Perak residents discovered a two-ton female elephant, dead from an apparent electrocution near Tasek Banding, three hours outside of KL, early yesterday morning.
Local Wildlife and National Parks Department acting director Wan Shaharuddin Wan Nordin told reporters that a team of officers rushed to the scene after it was reported at 7:30am.
The perimeter was blocked off, while electricity purveyor Tenaga Nasional Berhad turned off the electrical supply in the area.
Officials believe that the elephant was electrocuted after pushing against a zinc wall on a contractor’s cabin, and damaging an electrical line in the process. She is believed to be around 40 years old.
Pictures of the animal have since gone viral on Facebook.
Malaysia’s tropical jungle is home to a dizzying array of wildlife, from orangutans to pangolins to elephants, but their numbers have been dwindling.
They are targeted by poachers, their natural habitat has been shrinking due to expansion of plantations, while hundreds have been killed on busy roads as the highway network has rapidly expanded.
Two elephants were killed in the space of three months earlier this year after being hit by vehicles along a stretch of highway in the same area that the elephant was electrocuted.
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