KOTA KINABALU: Sabah recorded its 27th elephant death this year when another wild elephant was found dead in the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve in Tawau.
The female elephant was estimated to be between 12 to 15 years old and was found dead on Monday by a Berjaya Sdn Bhd employee who then informed the Sabah Wildlife Department.
The department's public relations officer Siti Nur'ain Ampuan Acheh said acting on the information, a team of investigators were deployed to the location.
The team included veterinary officers as well as the department's staff members tasked with investigating the matter and conduct a post-mortem.
"Based on the physical condition of the carcass, the almost two metre high animal was believed to have been dead for more than five days.
"Checks did not find any physical wounds or bullet entry points. The team also used a metal detector to trace if there are any metals inside the carcass," Siti Nur'ain said in a statement today.
She added that post-mortem report however found fractures in the elephant's head.
Apart from that, the left bone was also severed from the skull, adding that all these pointed to signs of the elephant having sustained strong blows to the head.
"Severe head injuries are believed to have resulted in nerve damages which then led to bleeding and subsequently death.
"There is a large possibility there was a fight with another elephant which led to its death," she said.
According to her, plantation workers in the area had also reported a sighting of some 40 elephants there prior to the discovery of the dead female elephant.