PETALING JAYA: A rare Borneo pygmy elephant which stunned the zoological world with its unique "sabre-like" tusks has been found dead, believed to have been shot by ivory poachers.

According to a Facebook posting by the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), today, the carcass of the unusual looking creature which possessed tusks growing downwards was discovered at the Segama conservation centre near Tawau on Dec 31.

"The remains and its satellite collar were discovered by DGFC and the Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) team this morning.

"There are no words to express our sadness and anger. We hope that the departments in charge will do everything to catch the culprit and that those crimes will not go unpunished," the group said in its posting.

The sabre-tusked elephant was among two elephants that were found dead within one week within the same vicinity.

DGFC said based on the information derived from the satellite collar, the sabre-tusked pygmy elephant might have been killed on Nov 20.

The rare animal was first discovered by wildlife experts at a palm oil plantation in Tawau in August and was fitted with a satellite collar as part of efforts to monitor its movements.

Sabah Wildlife Department's assistant director Sen Nathan had said that the tusks could be the result of a congenital defect or due to inbreeding.

It was then released into Kawag forest reserve in October.

Bornean Pygmy Elephants are the smallest elephant species in the world, with roughly 1,500 of these animals roaming the Sabah forests.

The incident is the latest setback at efforts to conserve and increase the number of elephants in the region.

On Sept 18, five of the nine elephants found stuck in a mud pool near the Berkat Saga Logging Camp in Rinukut, Sabah died, after the animals were believed to be trapped for more than a week.

While in 2013, 14 pygmy elephants were found dead near Gunung Rara forest reserve after they were found poisoned.