The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has advised the public to report the presence of wild animals such
as elephants and tigers in their areas and not take action of their own to chase them away.
Kelantan Perhilitan Department director Rahmat Topani said the department staff were trained to deal with such situations.
Rahmat was commenting on an incident in which a man in Gua Musang was killed after an elephant attacked him two days ago.
A female elephant from a herd of six charged at Lee Che Hassan, 46, after he had set off firecrackers in an attempt to scare the animal away.
Lee, 46, of Kampung Serian, Batu 11, near here, died after the female elephant twined its trunk around him and smashed him against a tree.
“Don’t act on your own,” Rahmat told Bernama, adding that department rangers were now tracking the animal.
In an indication of human encroachment of dwindling forests, this is the third elephant attack in Kelantan in five months. On Jan 23, a farm worker Bernardus Ngongo Naru, 24, fractured his rib bones when an elephant trampled on him.
On Dec 6, Muhamad Adnan Iberahim, 26, was killed when he was trampled on by a herd of wild elephants near Pos Pasik, Gua Musang.
The public can contact Perhilitan at 019 875 2788.
— Bernama
Admin
Dr Keith Tan Kay Hin
