Sad news from Malaysia’s east coast this morning, with reports that an elephant who had come out of the jungle near Hulu Terengganu to cross the road, was hit by a truck carrying iron ore.
The incident occurred at kilometer 44 of the Jalan Berang-Aring route last night at approximately 10:30pm, with the driver going between Gua Musang to Kemaman Port.
Emyhaizi Ahmad, the 32-year-old driver of the truck, reported that a herd of elephants emerged from the forest, and he was unable to stop his truck in time. Police report that conditions at the time of the crash were good, with clear skies. However, the distance between the vehicle and animals was too short to stop in time.
One of the elephants was struck by the truck, and the animal was trapped under the rear tire of the trailer. The animal succumbed to severe head injuries at the scene, with Department of Wildlife officials arriving on the scene to help remove the body from the road.
A 2017 estimate placed wild elephant numbers in peninsular Malaysia somewhere around 1,450, spread across the states of Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Perak, Johor and Negri Sembilan.
Malaysia is home to vast tracts of rainforest and a kaleidoscope of exotic wildlife, from elephants to orangutans and tigers, but the numbers of many rare species have fallen dramatically in recent decades.
Some have been hunted for their body parts that are then sold on the black market, but a growing number are falling victim to human-animal conflict — which happens when rapid expansion of plantations or development of settlements encroaches on animals’ natural habitats.
Many elephants in Malaysia have been injured or killed after coming into contact with humans when they wander onto the country’s ubiquitous palm oil plantations, or enter settlements and eat crops.
Villagers and plantation workers sometimes target them, viewing them as pests and not realizing they are endangered and protected by law.
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