Fish pond operators worried about elephants wallowing in the pond
SUNGAI SIPUT - A herd of elephants who have come to wallow in the fish ponds in Felda Lasah, here, is feared to affect the income of the pond operators.
The water in the fish pond filled with tilapia, baung, lampam java and puyu siam type of fishes is turning cloudy and the embankment of the pond has also been damaged by the wild animals
One of the operators of the pond, Idris Najat, 70, said that the herd of elephants were spotted entering the pond area since last Sunday.
"We found out based on the damages on the bank of the pond and piles of animal poop that was left behind.
A few days ago, the villagers had also heard the sound of elephants coming from the nearby palm oil plantation.
"Even though no fish had died, we are still worried because these wild animals have been wallowing here for three days now, and damaging the pond.
"If the bank of the pond breaks, thousands of fish that we cultivated will escape into the nearby river," he said when contacted by Sinar, here, today.
Zulkifly Arifin, 52, who had just started cultivating fish in the ponds, is worried that he would not be able to reap the benefits of selling the fish.
"A total of 5,000 fish larvae were released last year and I am expecting to be sell them in about three months after they grow to an appropriate size.
"I should be able to get between RM2,000 to RM3,000 but looking at this situation, I'm afraid that these fish will die before they are being sold," he said.
Zulkifli hoped that the Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) would take immediate action to control the situation.
Meanwhile, Perak Perhilitan director Yusoff Shariff said he had received a complaint about the elephants in the Felda Lasah area.
"However, we did not receive a complaint about elephants wallowing in fish ponds, but the relevant units have been despatched to control the situation after receiving the complaint," he said.
