PEKAN: A herd of elephants including a young calf were rescued after getting trapped in an abandoned mud pit at the Ibam forest reserve near Runchang, here, yesterday.
Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) rangers took about four hours to dig a path and chase the elephants to climb out of a steep mud pit which is believed to be an abandoned gold mining site.
State Perhilitan director Rozidan Md Yasin said the Orang Asli community who lived nearby had stumbled upon the animals stuck in the pit at about noon and immediately alerted the department.
He said four rangers were deployed to the scene and they sought help from a mining company operator in the vicinity to help bring the animals out.
"An excavator was brought to help dig out a path to form a ramp to allow the animals to climb out of the pit. It took some four hours to complete the task.
"Once completed, the elephants managed to climb out of the pit before walking into the nearby forest. We believe the animals had entered the 4.5m deep pit for a mud bath when they were trapped," he said today.
Rozidan said the abandoned mining pits have become a threat not only to elephants but other wild animals which occupied the Ibam forest reserve.
"We hope mining operators will be more responsible by covering up disused mining pits or the authorities will take action against those who fail to adhere to the orders," he said.
He said the elephants occupied the jungle near the mining pit which was located some 7km from the Runchang Orang Asli settlement.
Footage shared by Perhilitan online showed the animals climbing out of the mud and quickly heading into the forest as they were cheered by those involved in the rescue operations.