Study of wildlife habitats needs to be expedited to address conflicts with humans - Group
Satellite tracking proposed to reduce elephant encounters in Kelantan
GUA MUSANG - An ecological study, especially in relation to wild animal habitats, must be expedited to resolve the conflicts between wild animals and humans in Kelantan.
Ecological Association of Malaysia president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail said this is because the crop areas such as plantations and farms are often damaged by wild animals including elephants.
He said relevant parties should pay special attention to wild animal habitats to allow foraging and breeding activities to take place without causing any conflict with humans.
"Incidents involving wild animals and humans have continued to occur, such as road accidents, crop and property damage, loss of life or human injury and other conflicts between humans and wild animals.
"Areas with special needs such as saltlicks for wild animals need to be given special attention. If this matter is not given our attention then this problem will continue and there will be no solution,” he told Bernama recently.
He added that cooperation between the development agencies and the wildlife protection agency needed to go hand in hand for more effective solutions.
"When the forest areas become smaller, the paths of wild animals are not only blocked, but food and suitable habitat also decrease, leading to an increase in conflict.
"I would like to propose that the use of satellite technology to locate elephants should be widely implemented to overcome the frequency of conflicts between elephants and humans in this district,” he said.
Previously, Kelantan Department of Wildlife and National Parks had taken steps to install light emitting diode lights in locations identified as the entry route for wild elephants to human settlement areas as well as construct an electric fence system for elephant around the affected areas based on complaints received from the local community.
In May, a Bangladeshi man was killed after being trampled by a wild elephant in the Kampung Om Estate, Pos Blau on May 12 while a Myanmar woman was injured by a wild elephant in Ladang Aring 8 on May 8. - BERNAMA
