Malaysia: Elephants a common sight in Dumpas Plantation

Bernama New Straits Times 26 Jul 17;

TAWAU : A herd of wild elephants is a common sight at the Dumpas oil palm plantation near the Kalabakan-Tawau road here. The plantation’s manager Mohd Rahmat said the elephants were seen roaming the area of the workers’ quarters at about 2pm yesterday, believed to be looking for food.

He said to avoid undesirable incidents, the Dumpas elephant monitoring team and Wildlife Department personnel had chased the elephants away from the plantation area to the nearby forest.

“The elephant herd has been spotted many times in the plantation area and we will closely monitor them by doing regular patrols,” he said when contacted by Bernama here today.

As of yesterday, he said no incidents had been reported due to the problem, which went viral on social media.

The elephants have also been spotted in areas like Brumas, Cenderamata, Benta Wawasan, Kalabakan and Felda Umas, he said. – BERNAMA