Malaysia’s ‘elephant whisperer’ leads push to save Sabah’s endangered Bornean elephants
SUKAU, Sept 21 — Deep in Malaysia’s Borneo jungle, wild shouts fill the air as a Bornean elephant is darted...
In Malaysia's Borneo jungle, conservationist Farina Othman, known as "Borneo's elephant whisperer," leads a mission to save the endangered Bornean elephants. Around 1,000 of these elephants remain in the wild, and their habitat has shrunk due to logging and oil palm expansion. Farina and her team work to minimize human-elephant conflict by attaching GPS collars to the animals and creating "corridors" for them to move safely through fragmented forest patches.
In recent years, a herd of 20 elephants ventured into palm oil plantations and villages, causing concern among locals. The team works fast, darting the elephant, attaching a tracking collar, and taking blood samples before retreating before the animal wakes up. Despite the challenges, Farina believes in a win-win situation where both elephant conservation and plantation sustainability can coexist.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
