Suspected poisoning of rare elephants
The deaths of ten pygmy elephants in Borneo is expected to be a result of poisoning, according to country officials, who do not yet know whether it was intentional.
Though the deaths did not all take place at once, the elephants were believed to all be part of the same family, seven of which were female and three were male.
The endangered elephants, which have been the subject of a conservation effort since they became their own distinct species in 2003, ranged from four to 20 years of age. In one case, a three-month-old calf had to be rescued because its mother had died.
Each of the deaths occurred at the Gunung Rara forest reserve in the state of Sabah, Malaysia over the last three weeks; however, officials say there was no sign that the elephants had been poached.
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) reports that only 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants exist, the majority of which live in Sabah. They typically reach around 2.5 metres (8 foot) tall and have a distinctive babyish face.
Postmortem examinations have determined that all of the elephants suffered severe haemorrhages and ulcers in the gastrointestinal tracts, which were likely caused by poisoning of some form.
"We highly suspect that it might be some form of acute poisoning from something that they had eaten, but we are still waiting for the laboratory results," said Sen Nathan, senior veterinarian of Sabah's wildlife department.
The state's environmental minister, Masidi Manjun, issued a statement that read: "This is a very sad day for conservation and Sabah. The death of these majestic and severely endangered Bornean elephants is a great loss to the state.
"If indeed these poor elephants were maliciously poisoned, I would personally make sure that the culprits would be brought to justice and pay for their crime."
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
