KOTA KINABALU: Efforts are underway to drive back a herd of about 40 Borneo pygmy elephants into a forest reserve after they encroached into a plantation in Sabah’s east coast Ulu Segama area.

A six-member team of rangers have moved them back into the forests to ensure the jumbos were not hurt and also to minimise any damage to the plantation.

State Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said their officers were monitoring the operation closely and that all efforts were being made to ensure the elephants were unharmed.

On Thursday, the elephants were spotted at the Transkina Plantation while foraging for food.

The authorities were alerted immediately about their presence.

Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew said forest rangers were following the trail to prevent a the elephants from getting shot.

Liew said she was being updated on the development from time to time.

“The rangers are doing their best to protect these elephants,” Liew, who is also the state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister.

Some 25 Borneo pygmy elephants have died this year alone for various causes, including human-elephant conflict and poaching.

The elephants, numbering around 1,500 to 2,000 in the Sabah’s wild, are a protected species.