Wild elephant rams into homes looking for food
SUNGAI SIPUT - Over 140 Orang Asli residents in Satut, Pos Perwor were left in shock after a wild elephant trampled into their village on Sunday morning.
The 1.30am incident saw four houses damaged while banana crops destroyed as the elephant was looking for food.
Checks revealed the destruction involved the structure of the homes especially at the kitchen areas with a few damaged appliances in addition to some food such as rice scattered on the ground.
Tinah Pandak, 50, said it was the first such attack to occur since the village was built 38 years ago.
She said the incident left her and her family traumatised and they moved to a surau nearby to shelter at night.
"I still remember we were asleep during the incident and the elephant had pushed the backyard shed and the door until it collapsed.
" I immediately led my grandchild and daughter-in-law out of the house and ran towards the surau.
“That's when I heard the sound of things breaking like it was being rummaged," she said when met on Wednesday.
She said the incident left her family traumatised and one of her family members fell ill.
"The neighbours said a baby elephant had entered the home to find food while its mother was outside, and made a complete mess in the kitchen.
"The house doors could not be fixed anymore and the windows were broken. I used boards and zinc to cover the windows," she said.
Another resident Nasir Busu, 47, said the elephants had 'visited' the village at least twice at night.
"The first incident, my wife and I managed to escape and run to a relative's home at the neighbourng village to take shelter.
"The second incident happened on Tuesday, I peeked through the window and saw the elephant which was as tall as my house, it was very big," he said.
He added that although there were no new damages, the villagers helped each other to do rounds and made bonfire in front of their homes to scare the wild animals.
Meanwhile, the village head Jamil Itam said the destruction of the Piah Forest Reserve was believed to be the main cause of the wild elephant attacks.
"As far as we know, there is deforestation for logging and durian fields nearby. Our village are in is in the middle of it, causing the elephants to be trapped not being able to go anywhere.
"We had planted some bananas, but the elephants may have come to eat the bananas.
“The presence of wild animals of course would lead the residents to feel afraid, especially with the attack in Gerik recently,” he said
He added that the incident was reported to the police and the Wildlife and National Parks Department for further action.
"We hope the relevant parties involved can help us, especially concerning the destruction faced by residents.
"The residents' income is affected due to the worries of their safety to find products in the forest such as rattan, bamboo and so on," he said.
