Reducing preventable deaths is essential to ensuring the long-term survival and recovery of Sabah’s Bornean elephant population, said state authorities.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the current elephant population in the state is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500.
He said that between 2022 and 2025, annual elephant deaths ranged from 25 to 42 cases, involving natural causes, poaching, snaring, habitat-related incidents, and human-elephant conflict.
He added that recent incidents included an elephant found mutilated with its tusks removed in Tongod, while another in Kalabakan was discovered with a severely injured and partially severed trunk.
Jafry noted that in some cases, carcasses are already in advanced stages of decomposition, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of death even after thorough investigations.
He said it cannot be assumed that the species’ birth rate is sufficient to offset annual losses, as elephants are slow-breeding animals with long gestation periods and long intervals between births.
For that reason, he stressed that reducing preventable deaths is critical to ensuring the long-term viability and recovery of the population.
He also said the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) is continuing population assessments and monitoring efforts, with updated estimates expected in the coming years.
On conservation facilities, Jafry said Sabah already has designated centres such as Lok Kawi Wildlife Park and the Bornean Elephant Sanctuary to care for, rehabilitate and temporarily house rescued elephants.
He said these facilities play an important role in managing elephants that are injured, displaced, or involved in human-elephant conflict.
However, he stressed that Sabah’s long-term strategy focuses on in-situ conservation, prioritising habitat protection rather than relocating elephants into captivity or confined sanctuaries.
Ongoing efforts include improving habitat connectivity, strengthening wildlife corridors, and reducing conflict through landscape-level planning.
SWD is also using smart patrol applications to help rangers identify high-risk areas for snares and analyse patterns of illegal activity in protected zones.
In plantation areas, district-level task forces have been set up to implement mitigation measures such as fencing systems, food banks, and wildlife corridors.
These initiatives aim to monitor elephant movement and reduce the frequency and severity of human-elephant conflict through collaboration between authorities, conservation groups, and plantation stakeholders.
