KOTA KINABALU, Oct 24 — The police have recovered tusks believed to be from the latest elephant killing in Beluran, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew today.

Without elaborating further, Liew said police investigations into the death of the endangered Borneo pygmy elephant were ongoing and more details will be revealed once these are complete.

"They discovered the tusks in the second incident, but the culprits are still under probe. At this moment, we can’t reveal more because the matter is under investigation,” she said told reporters today.

On Sunday, it was reported that an elephant carcass was found in a plantation in the Beluran district with its tusks missing.

It was initially believed to have been poached and shot, but a post-mortem found no bullet wounds on the animal.

It was the second reported elephant killing in a month, raising concerns for the conservation of the endangered species.

When contacted, Beluran district police chief superintendent Kasim Muda said that the tusks were recovered yesterday at 1pm after the plantation manager of IOI Bimbingan 2 called the police.

"He got the information from his workers that villagers had found the tusks in bushes near the area where the elephant carcass was discovered,” he said.

"The police went to the area with the manager and found the tusks but there have been no arrests following the discovery. We are still trying to identify the suspect,” he said.

He also said the police have yet to determine the elephant’s cause of death after gunshot wounds were ruled out. Police have one plantation guard in custody to assist investigations.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has offered a RM50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect in the case.

In the recent killing of another elephant on September 25 in Sungai Udin, Dumpas, Kalabakan, a member of the public tipped off police which led to the arrest of six men, including a Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) staff and hired guards.

There was a combined reward of RM30,000 for information on the incident which saw a bull elephant shot and killed at close range in a hail of over 70 bullets.

No charges have been filed over the incident.