Two pygmy elephants found dead without tusks in Eastern Sabah

KUALA LUMPUR: Two pygmy elephants have been found dead without their tusks in Eastern Sabah.
Danau Girang Field Centre director Benoit Goossens said one was found near the Kinabatangan river and another at an oil palm plantation in Tawau, Sabah.
He said there may be a possibility the elephants were hunted for their tusks.
In the past six months, six pygmy elephants, which included the special sabre tusk jumbo, have been killed.
Sabah has been faced with the threat of wildlife poaching, especially of its endangered elephants which number around 2,000 in forests in eastern Sabah.
The Sabah Wildlife Department said they have no new leads or suspects in both the new cases.
Nevertheless, investigations are ongoing to identify the perpetrators.
The department's director, Augustine Tuuga, said the death of the elephant in Dumpas revealed no external injuries.
He said that they have taken blood samples to establish the cause of death while the second elephant might be a victim of poaching.
Wildlife officials were also probing the case of a green turtle found butchered on the shores of Pulau Bum Bum in Semporna which was highlighted in a Facebook posting on Wednesday.
At least nine dead turtles were seen in the photo uploaded on Facebook.
Tuuga said they were verifying the reports and carrying an investigation into the deaths.
He said villagers said there were nine carcasses.