PUTRAJAYA, June 4: Elephant habitats and roaming areas are crucial for supporting the elephant population, as habitat loss due to land use changes for agriculture, plantations, settlements, urbanisation and infrastructure development can result in human-elephant conflicts, said Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in a statement on Monday.
A cow and three bull elephants were recently found dead in Kluang, Johor, recently and the minister was responding to the development. He said these primary habitats are surrounded by agricultural areas, plantations and residential settlements.
“I would like to emphasise that elephant habitats and roaming areas are crucial to support the elephant population, as habitat loss due to land use changes for agriculture, plantations, settlements, urbanisation and infrastructure development results in human-elephant conflicts.”
Human-elephant conflicts can meanwhile lead to the destruction of agricultural crops, property damage, injuries and loss of life, he added.
In the statement, he also said preliminary investigations found that the elephants belonged to the Bandar Tenggara herd that roamed the Lenggor; Kluang and Kluang Tambahan; Labir and Sembrong forest reserves in Johor and Taman Negara Endau Rompin, Pahang.
On Saturday, Johor Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Aminuddin Jamin reported that post-mortems would be conducted to determine the cause of death of the four elephants found dead in a fruit orchard in Kahang Timur, Kluang.
Nik Nazmi said further investigations were also underway, while Perhilitan was also conducting inspections and monitoring around the area.
He noted that according to Perhilitan’s records, 646 human-elephant conflict complaints were reported in Johor from 2020 to May 2024, with 292 complaints involving the Kluang district.
According to Nik Nazmi, current data estimates the elephant population in Johor to be between 120 and 160.
“Elephants are one of the country’s iconic wildlife species and are fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716),” he said.
Nik Nazmi highlighted that the government is continuously proactive in preserving and conserving wildlife habitats, including for elephants, through several initiatives such as developing the National Elephant Conservation Action Plan 2023-2030, establishing the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Lanchang, Pahang, and intensifying efforts to gazette forested areas as Permanent Forest Reserves.
— BERNAMA