Wild elephant in Malaysia rescued from drain using excavator in 5-hour operation

MALAYSIA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) successfully rescued a female elephant that was stuck in a 1.5-meter-deep gutter along the Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway.

The incident, which occurred at Batu 11, was shared on Facebook by a user named Achik Pcsho on 17 May.

The video posted by Achik shows the distressed elephant trapped in the channel, unable to climb out due to the absence of steps.

Perhilitan responded swiftly to the situation, deploying an excavator to build a mound of soil, allowing the elephant to climb out of the gutter.

In his post, Achik highlighted the elephant’s dire condition, noting that the combination of hunger, heat, and unfamiliar noises had left her stressed and vulnerable.

“Falling in a small gutter, not eating enough, the weather is hot, and having to listen to strange noises makes her stressed. If she is saved too late, she may wither and die,” Achik wrote.

He urged the public to take action when witnessing such situations, emphasizing the importance of notifying authorities rather than merely recording the event.

“With this little effort, we can save her life,” he stated.

Perhilitan rescues the elephant after five-hour operation

Perhilitan Perak Director, Yusoff Shariff, confirmed that his team received information about a wild elephant trapped in a gutter over 1.5 meters deep at 8 AM on Friday (17 May), as reported by Berita Harian.

“Seven Perhilitan personnel were mobilized to the location, and various efforts were carried out to rescue the wild elephant, estimated to be six years old. These efforts included using an excavator to create a passage for the elephant to get out,” Yusoff said.

The rescue operation took five hours and involved the collaboration of the Public Works Department (JKR), the police, and the Belati Wangsa concession company.

Yusoff added that the female elephant was confirmed to be healthy before being transported to a nearby forest reserve to return to her natural habitat