In the early hours of Mother’s Day (11 May), a mummy elephant in Malaysia lost her baby — a five-year-old male calf — after he was run over by a lorry.
Source: Hadi Mua’fi Taufik on Facebook
The incident occurred on the East-West Expressway at Kuala Kangsar, Perak at 3.30am, Sin Chew Daily reported.
Traffic started to build up as the mother elephant reportedly stayed at the scene for a long time.
Videos circulating on social media show the mummy elephant standing with her head pressed against the lorry as her baby is crushed underneath the vehicle.
At one point, she grunted and pushed the vehicle with her head, trying to save her calf.
Source: Hadi Mua’fi Taufik on Facebook
The Perak Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department (PERHILITAN) received a report at 3.30am regarding an accident that involved a five-year-old baby elephant estimated to weigh 700kg.
According to Director Yusoff Shariff, they have extracted the baby elephant’s carcass from under the lorry and are set to bury him.
They also captured the 25- to 27-year-old mummy elephant, which will be monitored and released into a safe, natural habitat.
Source: Perak Forestry Department via Sinar Harian
Mr Yusoff also added that PERHILITAN has been taking various preventive measures to protect wild elephants, including placing noticeboards along the expressway.
Street lights and patrols are in place, but wild elephants roam unpredictably along different road sections. They’ll also add noticeboards and lights but can’t patrol every kilometre due to limited manpower.
Mr Yusoff also believes that motorists have to pay more attention to their driving and advised them to travel between 10am to 4pm, which the director deemed as a safe driving time.
Information regarding the lorry driver have not been revealed, including whether there would be action taken against him.
However, Gerik District Police Chief Superintendent Zulkifli Mahmood said his department will issue a statement regarding the case soon.
Also read: Herd of elephants in Thailand destroy house, seemingly in revenge after calf was shot & killed\
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Featured image adapted from Hadi Mua’fi Taufik on Facebook, JBTALKS on Facebook.