(MY) new sanctuary

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Jumbo off to sanctuary-New Straits Times

07 Nov 2006

Sharifah Mahsinah Syed Abdullah

 

 

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JELI: The nine-year-old elephant hit by a lorry on the East-West

Highway in Batu Melintang has been sent to an elephant sanctuary.

 

Named Mat Lawar, the pachyderm will receive treatment for the wound on

its right leg.

 

It took park rangers, who were assisted by two adult female elephants,

two hours to coax Mat Lawar out of the Gunung Basor forest reserve

onto a lorry. Its new home is the National Elephant Conservation

Centre in Kuala Gandah, Pahang.

 

Looking weak, Mat Lawar slowly limped towards the lorry while Cik Mek

and Lokimala guided it along.

 

 

 

The two elephants are invaluable to the Wildlife and National Parks

Department operations to transport captured elephants, as they are

able to calm and lead other wild elephants.

 

The department's elephant unit chief, Nasharuddin Othman, said

although Mat Lawar was in pain, it responded well to the trained

elephants' guidance to get on board the lorry.

 

The park rangers decided not to use tranquillisers in view of Mat

Lawar's weak condition.

 

" The trained animals did a good job moving along slowly, and although

the lorry was parked 50m away, it took them two hours to get to it, "

said Nasharuddin.

 

It also took several hours to prepare the area for the animal to be

brought out of the jungle.

 

Mat Lawar, named after a nearby village where it was found, was hit by

a lorry on Oct 31 while it was crossing the highway.

 

The next day, the rangers tied it with chains and a veterinarian

dressed the wound and left it tied to a tree.

 

Nasharuddin said Mat Lawar was brought to the sanctuary so that it

could get further treatment. The department has yet to decide whether

it will be released.

 

The elephant is the second captured this year by the department.