Dead baby elephant found by Tawau river, following viral Facebook post

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 26 — The Sabah Wildlife Department today found the remains of a juvenile elephant that had reportedly been spotted floating in a river yesterday, after being alerted to a Facebook post.

Department director Augustine Tuuga said Tawau district wildlife officers were notified of a Facebook post last night that the body of an elephant had been found in Sungai Udin, Dumpas, Tawai in the Kalabakan district.

“The officers arrived at the location at 10.30am and saw the elephant from a distance of 50m from across the river, in a seated position on the riverbank.

“From what they can see, there are wounds on the head, cheek, body and backside of the elephant, possibly from a gunshot.

“In the photos posted on Facebook, a rope was tied around the elephant’s neck, but from their observation, the rope is no longer there,” he said when contacted by Malay Mail.

It is not known how the elephant came to rest in that position or what happened to it before and after the photos that were taken.

“We are hoping to be able to conduct a post-mortem tomorrow to determine the cause of death,” he said.

The female elephant, around six feet tall, is estimated to be around 11- or 12-years-old and is considered a juvenile. Due to the relatively intact condition of the carcass, it is believed to have died three or four days ago.

The wildlife officers had tried to reach the elephant on the other side of the river, which is a small holder’s plantation with no road access, but the water was too deep to cross in a vehicle.

“They also tried to get there on foot but they walked for four hours and failed due to the terrain and curves of the river. They said a boat is the only means of getting to it,” he said.

The Facebook post — which first published the photos of the elephant floating in the river — said the elephant was discovered by anglers in the area who saw a wound on its back.

They speculated that the calf was intentionally tied to a tree to prevent it from being swept away by river currents or to allow the body to be eaten by crocodiles.