Dead Bornean pygmy elephant discovered drifting in Sabah's Kinabatangan River
A carcass of a Bornean pygmy elephant was found floating in the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, believed to be the animal reported sick weeks earlier.
Residents spotted the dead pygmy elephant in the Kinabatangan River around mid-afternoon. Sabah Wildlife Department director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar said officials suspect it is the same elephant that had been reported ill several weeks prior. Officers need to reach the site to confirm, but a shortage of boats is hampering access. The species, endemic to Sabah, numbers only about 1,000 to 1,500 individuals and faces ongoing threats from habitat loss, snaring and poisoning.
