Wild elephants: Perhilitan Perak has received more than 40 complaints this year
27 Aug 2022 06:33pm
Action had been taken on the complaints as quickly as possible, either by driving away or by capturing them. - Photo: Perhilitan Perak)
He said action had been taken on the complaints as quickly as possible, either by driving away the animals or by capturing them.
"We (at Perhilitan) take every report and complaint seriously. A team is immediately dispatched to the location and takes immediate action. To date, we have received 47 complaints in this state and two cases involving injuries at Kampung Katong Rancangan Penempatan Semula (RPS) Kemar and an area near the Gerik highway.
"This is unavoidable because the jungle is their natural habitat. We have groups to deal with elephant issues in Perak, Johor and many more. So we will call all members to help resolve this issue," he said at a press conference after attending a ceremony to welcome a baby hippopotamus here.
According to Abdul Kadir, residents have been asked not to take action on their own and immediately lodge a report to Perhilitan because it was not safe to do so and could be life-threatening.
On Aug 18, State Health, Science, Environment and Green Technology Committee chairman Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin said the Perak state government was considering erecting an electric fencing system and alarms to resolve the conflict between humans and elephants in several areas in the state.
The proposal included installing a 14-kilometre (km) Electric Fence System at RPS Kemar, Gerik at a cost of almost RM1 million, and so far, the system had been installed at SK RPS Kemar, effectively preventing elephants from entering the school grounds.
Meanwhile, Sunway Theme Park executive director Calvin Ho said today's ceremony was to welcome Jaguh, the first child of hippopotamus couple Jiwang and Juwita.
"Like humans, hippopotamus’ need a confinement period where at this time Jiwang is temporarily separated until Juwita's 'acquaintance' period with her child is over,” he said. - BERNAMA
