KOTA KINABALU: An adult female Borneo pygmy elephant, which was found dead at an oil palm smallholding in Lahad Datu, is believed to have died of blood poisoning or toxaemia, says Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew (pic). She said that the elephant’s death was similar to the death of collared-elephant "Girang", which also died of toxaemia on Nov 16 this year. She said a police report had been lodged, and an investigation officer was appointed to probe into the case. Based on the post-mortem, she said the cause of the elephant's death is possible ingestion of toxic substance (food poisoning), and sample tissues had been sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis. "In the meantime, we are banking on the General Operations Force (GOF) in Sabah, particularly the Tiger Platoon, to assist the Sabah Wildlife Department in combating wildlife poaching and poisoning," she added.

Source: The Star December 10, 2019 11:48 UTC