Sabah Wildlife Dept rescues baby elephant 'rejected' by herd

 

Baby elephant Yuri rescued by teams from east Coast and Lahad Datu. -Pic courtesy of Sabah Wildlife Rescue

LAHAD DATU: Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) was called in to rescue a baby elephant that was rejected by its herd recently.

Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) assistant director Dr Sen Nathan said the team was alerted of the matter on June 15, by workers at Ladang Felda FGV Sahabat 9 Baiduri.

The baby elephant was named "Yuri" after the plantation where she was found.

"The WRU team has been monitoring the calf for a few days and tried their best to reunite the baby elephant with its herd.

"Unfortunately, the herd did not accept the calf," he said in a Facebook post.

Sen added that after the rescue, it was determined that Yuri is a male elephant aged about a year or less.

Physical examination showed minor skin injuries on the left forelimbs and front head.

"The team tried to feed the baby elephant with milk but failed as it is not familiar with it.

"However, it can drink water through its trunk and eat solid food such as banana trunks," he said.

Yuri was later taken to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre for further veterinary and husbandry care.

"We would like to thank Malaysian Palm Oil Council, Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation, ORANGUTAN APPEAL UK, Oregon Zoo for funding all the wildlife operations that WRU conducted."