KOTA KINABALU: A RM30,000 reward has been offered to anyone who can provide information that can lead to the arrest of people behind the merciless killing of a pygmy elephant in Sungai Udin, Dumpas in Kalabakan, near Tawau on Thursday.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said it was hoped that people would come forward with information on the incident.
“The area is sparsely populated but the department will continue to track down those responsible for the killing,“ he said when met at the opening of the 5th Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) Technical Workshop on Tourism and Visitor Management in Protected Areas, here today.
Augustine said the post-mortem conducted on the pygmy elephant revealed that it died from a bullet wound to the head.
He said over 70 bullet wounds were found on its body but that did not cause its death.
“One shot had fractured and penetrated the skull before it had its tusks removed,” he said, adding that it was an adult male elephant, aged between 20 and 30, and not a juvenile female, which it was initially thought to be. — Bernama
