Perak govt to address rising elephant crossings after fatal highway accident

Malay Mail

22-05-2025

IPOH, May 22 — Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad today announced that the state government will collaborate with the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to tackle the increasing number of human-elephant conflicts.
Saarani stressed the importance of studying elephant behaviour, particularly as more elephants are being spotted crossing highways.
'We've observed elephants, especially along the East-West Highway, moving in large groups, and something must be triggering this.
'We need to examine their behaviour more closely to understand the reasons behind these movements,' he told reporters after attending the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) 'Majlis Ramah Mesra' at the Meru Casuarina Hotel here.
Saarani also highlighted changes in elephant behaviour during the development of the Agropolitan Gandah project, where elephants frequently disturbed newly planted rubber trees.
'After studying their behaviour, we allocated a specific area for the elephants to feed and roam.
'Once they had that space, they no longer encroached on the plantation. That experience underscored the importance of understanding and adapting to wildlife behaviour,' he said.
He said Perhilitan would investigate the recent incidents involving elephants and propose suitable measures.
Saarani noted it was crucial to determine whether elephants were crossing the Gerik-Jeli stretch more frequently following the recent accident involving a baby elephant or if other factors were contributing to the increased movement.
He also advised road users, particularly those travelling along wildlife corridors, to exercise extra caution as these routes are traditional elephant pathways.
'I have tasked state executive councillor Teh Kok Lim with initiating discussions with Perhilitan to identify the causes and effective solutions.
'We are looking into the matter, especially as elephants are now crossing roads in larger groups,' he said.
On May 11, a five-year-old male elephant calf was killed after being struck by a poultry lorry at KM 80 of the East-West Highway in Gerik-Jeli during the early hours of the morning.
The incident went viral after a witness captured a heart-wrenching moment of the mother elephant desperately trying to push the lorry that had fatally struck her calf, which lay trapped underneath.
The mother elephant was later sedated and relocated to the forest.
Nine days later, a herd of wild elephants damaged a car at KM11 of the same highway while a 39-year-old man was inside.