{
  "id": 8827828,
  "title": "Malaysia’s ‘elephant whisperer’ fights to save Borneo’s endangered giants",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/malaysias-elephant-whisperer-fights-to-save-borneos-endangered-giants-8827828",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-21T02:44:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/09/21/malaysia-s-elephant-whisperer-fights-to-save-borneo-s-endangered-giants"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Farina Othman, known as Malaysia's \"elephant whisperer,\" dedicates her life to saving Borneo's endangered elephants. Based in the Kinabatangan River region of Sabah, Malaysia, Farina founded the conservation group Seratu Aatai (Solidarity) and has worked tirelessly to minimize human-elephant conflict. With only around 1,000 Bornean elephants left in the wild, their habitat has been decimated by logging and oil palm expansion, leaving them with limited space to roam.\n\nTo address this issue, Farina and her team of 17 conservationists focus on creating \"elephant corridors\" – pathways through plantations that connect patches of natural habitat. By promoting coexistence, they aim to decrease the number of incidents where elephants venture into private property or villages, causing distress for both the animals and locals. Farina's approach includes educational outreach in plantation schools, distributing informational pamphlets, and designating community wildlife guardians to help guide elephants away from human habitation.\n\nFarina's dedication has earned her the prestigious Whitley Award for conservationists. She believes that with the right partnerships and support, creating elephant corridors can be a win-win situation for both the plantations and the wildlife. However, the palm oil industry remains hesitant to sacrifice land for these corridors due to economic pressures. Farina remains hopeful that with continued collaboration and understanding, she can create a future where humans and elephants can peacefully coexist in Borneo.",
  "summary": "Conservationist Farina Othman and her team are working to protect the endangered species by minimising growing conflict between the animals and local communities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Malaysia’s ‘elephant whisperer’ fights to save Borneo’s endangered giants",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/malaysias-elephant-whisperer-fights-to-save-borneos-endangered-giants",
        "published": "2026-09-21T02:44:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}