| Archive for bridgebuilder.myfreeforum.org bridgebuilding effort, cross culture, cross faith, not bridge construction |
| obmar |
Rangers take charge of orphaned baby jumboRangers take charge of orphaned baby jumboLENGGONG: At a muddy clearing in Kampung Chepor here, five rangers have been fussing incessantly day and night over an orphaned 18-month-old male elephant. Its well-being is all the men have on their minds and they have been at the beck and call of the feisty pachyderm since they captured it on Monday. 
FEEDING TIME: Hamid trying to get close to the calf by feeding it with young banana leaves at a muddy clearing in Kampung Chepor in Lenggong yesterday afternoon. The calf, whose feet measures 18cm in diameter, is believed to be the baby of an elephant that died from gunshot wounds to her head at Kampung Pulau Cheri near here last month. Looking in the pink of health, the 300kg calf was happily feasting on young banana shoots and leaves fed to it by the men yesterday afternoon. “He is still a little wary of us and cannot be approached yet. But at least he is eating well,” said Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) assistant officer Hamid Basri Itam when met at the site. It takes three of the men two trips each to bring enough young leaves to feed the hungry animal for one meal. Even then, said Hamid Basri, they had to trek some 1km down a slippery mud trail to get the leaves. “We entered the jungle about 7am today as we were worried that the villagers living nearby may come and agitate the animal unknowingly,” he said, adding that though the creature appeared calm, the calf still tried to charge at him when he came too close. “He recognises me as the one who shot the tranquilliser dart at him on Monday afternoon.” Hamid Basri and his men stayed with the creature all day long, feeding him and making sure he was healthy and sheltered. When it rained early in the afternoon, the men found themselves stranded with the calf as their jeeps could not make it through the 5km of mud back onto the main road. In fact, their vehicles had skidded and fallen into a ravine twice on Tuesday afternoon. “We had to get tractors to pull the jeeps out of the mud,” said Hamid Basri. Still, the men looked more than happy to spend time with the calf and were seen playing with him before they had to leave him for the night. The calf will stay put at the site until the Kuala Gandah elephant translocation unit from Pahang arrives to take him away either today or tomorrow.[/img] |
| obmar |
Sad endingRescued baby elephant dies25 Jun 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GRIK: An 18-month-old elephant calf which collapsed during a relocation exercise died at 9.50am yesterday at the Felcra Kampung Chepor oil palm plantation, near Lenggong. She was buried at 4pm at the very spot where she breathed her last, barely two metres from the tail gate of a Kuala Gandah Elephant Translocation Unit lorry. It was supposed to have left for Kuala Gandah, Pahang on Friday afternoon but plans went awry when the 300kg calf keeled over a few hours after receiving three shots of an antidote . Earlier, about 11am, the animal was sedated with a 20mg shot of Xylazine to keep it calm during the trip to the plantation from the Piah Forest Reserve, where it had been captured on Monday by rangers. After the antidote was administered, the calf, named Mat Chepor, began swaying from side to side, and State Wildlife and National Parks Department and Kuala Gandah Translocation Unit personnel had to take turns to prop up the groggy animal. Despite words of encouragement and gentle prodding, the elephant keeled over about 3pm. At 5pm, assistance from the State Veterinary Department was sought. The calf lay there, huge eyes teary, trunk motionless and jaws slightly agape — the only signs of life being the occasional movement of the legs and slight heaving of the belly. A department staffer who arrived about 7.45pm immediately administered 500ml of dextrose to boost its energy while waiting for the arrival of Taiping Zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus. Lazarus, who arrived about 10pm, examined the calf. "I think dehydration and sheer exhaustion were the reasons for it (failing to recover from the effects of the sedative)," he said, rating its chances of survival at 50:50. He put it through sleep therapy, giving it intravenous fluids till about 3am. After a post-mortem at Taiping Zoo, Lazarus ruled out the antidote and sedative as being the cause of death. "Chronic malnutrition, damaged intestines, coupled with other factors, most probably killed it. The calf still needed to suckle. It was facing a slow death after being left alone (by its herd after its mother died)." |
| obmar |
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| obmar |
http://www.myelephants.org/
" Selamat Datang " to Kuala Gandah! 
Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre, or popularly referred to as the Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary, is located within the bio diversified-rich and protected Krau Game Reserve & was set up in 1989 under the DWNP <Department of Wildlife & National Parks, Malaysia>, manned by the Elephant Capture & Translocation Unit The Teris River acts as a natural border between the reserve and the Che' wong Orang Asli village - the last tribe of its kind found in Malaysia. The name Kuala Gandah is, itself, taken from the small stream running near the electric compound enclosure which houses the elephants during the day from 830am to 2pm before they are transferred to the roofed holding area. Prior to this arrangement, the ECTU was a mobile operating team since its establishment in 1974 with a temporary base at the Jengka Pusat plantation where a huge area of jungle was carved to make way for the planting of oil palm and rubber trees and given to poor families to work on as a means of eradicating poverty amongst the rural folk and to rid of subversive hideouts during the communist insurgency days in the 1970s. The clearing of the jungles created consistent confrontations between the wild elephants and the settlers. The unit remained there untill 1981 before it moved to Kuala Lompat on the north eastern side of Krau Game Reserve. However, it must be noted that cutting down of the forests here are done for the overall benefit of the people of Malaysia and compared to any other countries in the world - Malaysia has THE BEST record in forest preservation AND reforestation. Find out the world's 10 BIGGEST CULPRITS that keep on warming up the fragile world and yet blames Malaysia for supposedly cutting down all the forests. Go to http://unfccc.int/2860.php ECTU's dedicated and never ending function is to the continued protection and translocation of wild elephants, from areas where there is conflict between wild elephants and humans, into bigger and safer jungle reserves land. This unit is one of its kind in the world where the possibilities of being charged or trampled by enraged wild elephants happens for 2 weeks in every month! It is a thankless job where only a very tiny percentage of the general public is aware of the existence, dedication and sacrifices these magnificent men make every month in order to provide a win-win situation for both the wild elephants and the human planters! Currently, there are 24 full time and 6 contracted staff working and living in and near the centre complete with housing facilities and headed by its Officer-In-Charge Mr/Encik Nasharuddin Othman. Water is supplied and piped in from the upper reaches of the cool, clear and clean Sungai Batu waterfalls which lies within the gazetted " Protected Areas " of the Krau Game Reserve while electricity supply is on a 24 hour basis. Although the sanctuary was set up in late 1989, it was only in 1997 that the general Malaysian public and the world knew of its existence, thanks to the far sightness of a very good friend of the sanctuary, who is often referred to as The Elephant Man! Not only did he suggested and created activities and led surprised visitors to this sanctuary, but unselfishly invited the media, tourist guides and travel agencies to see what the sanctuary has to offer as he realised that the sanctuary IS for everyone! The rest, as they say....is history. <> If you do meet him here during one of his volunteering visits - feel free to ask anything there is about the sanctuary and elephants over a cup of tea and he will make your day a very unforgetable day for you! For that, a BIG thank you, Mr Elephant Man! Even tour guides and travel agencies have benefitted tremendously from the unselfish efforts of the sanctuary's No 1 EleFriend! The sanctuary certaintly needs more sincere help from interested individuals and organisations!!! Objectives of the Centre - Overall For the continuos conservation of the elephants and its habitats through sustainable management in tandem with the aspirations of the country. - Immediate 1) Ensuring of the protection and management of the elephants and its habitants 2) Enhancing the public's knowledge,awareness and support on the importance of elephant conservation. 3) Managing the Centre as a centre for Research and Education as well as an economic & eco-tourism activities site. The Centre has also played guests to interns/volunteers with veterinary, zoologial and eco-tourism and/or business/marketing OR hands-on living skills backgrounds from Czech Republic, the UK, the US, New Zealand, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany and Canada, not only to offer their skills and knowledge for the conservation of elephants but, in exchange, to learn more about the local culture, conservation effforts and the country. However, all volunteering & internship opportunities have since been stopped for an indefinite period as a result of various problems caused by an insensitive, ignorant & " ugly " North American towards not only the culture and the community @ the sanctuary but also towards several visitors. Not surprisingly, this " ugly " North American volunteer was uncharacteristically and unbelievably endorsed by his own embassy!![img][/img] |
| obmar |
Continuing the epic of the dead orphanIpoh SPCA: Go after hunters who shot jumboIPOH: Mat Chepor, the orphaned 18-month-old elephant, would have been alive if hunters had not shot its mother. Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) secretary Stephanie Yeap said the calf was forced to fend for itself after its mother died of gunshot wounds on May 8. “I am most upset with the ones who killed the mother. “What can the authorities do to prevent this from happening? We have to look at the root cause,” she said yesterday. The calf died on Friday while being transported to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Translocation Unit in Pahang. Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Shabrina Mohd Shariff said it was unusual for hunters to shoot female elephants if they were going after the tusks. She said Perhilitan tried to lodge a police report about the shooting of the mother elephant but was told that no action could be taken. The department has sent blood and tissue samples of the calf to the Veterinary Research Institute here for tests. Taiping Zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus had said the calf likely succumbed to exhaustion, dehydration and a chronic lack of nutrition. |
| obmar |
The Final Moments
1. The mood is still upbeat as these Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students join Perhilitan rangers in leading Mat Chepor out of Piah Forest Reserve. |
| obmar |
2. Village boys pat the still alive elephant after it collapses. In the background is the trailer waiting to take it to its new home at the Kuala Gandah elephant translocation unit in Pahang. |
| obmar |
3. Rangers trying to get the calf back on its feet. |
| obmar |
4. For university student Siti Aishah Sharudin, she can still feel the heartbeat of Mat Chepor at this stage. Moments later, the orphaned calf died. |
| obmar |
Orphaned baby elephant dies during relocation
24 Jun 2006 M. Husairy Othman GRIK: They tried everything possible to save the baby elephant which fell sick during a relocation exercise but in the end, despite their gallant efforts, the recently orphaned animal died this morning. The 18-month-old calf, believed to be the baby of an elephant that died from gunshot wounds in nearby Kampung Pulau Ceri last month, was captured by rangers in the Piah Forest Reserve on Monday. She died at the Felcra Kampung Chepor oil palm plantation near Lenggong as efforts were being made to transfer it to Kuala Gandah, Pahang. The calf breathed its last at about 9.50am, barely two metres away from the tail gate of a Kuala Gandah Elephant Translocation Unit lorry. It was supposed to have left for Kuala Gandah on Friday afternoon but plans went awry after the 300kg pachyderm keeled over after given three shots of antidode. Earlier at about 11am, the animal was sedated with a 20mg shot of Xylazine to calm it down as it was loaded onto a pick-up truck which transported it from the forest reserve to the plantation. Trouble started when the calf, affectionately named Mat Chepor (after the place it was found), could not stand on its own after the antidode was administered. State Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) and Kuala Gandah Translocation Unit personnel took turns to prop up the groggy animal which was swaying sideways and back and forth. Despite shouts of encouragement and gentle prodding by the group, the elephant keeled over at about 3pm. "I don't get it. Based on my experience, the effects of the tranquilizer should have worn off by now," a Perhilitan ranger was overheard telling a Translocation Unit staff. At 5pm, two hours after the animal fell to the ground, assistance from the State Veterinary Department was sought. By then, the pachyderm's condition had worsened - its huge eyes teary, trunk motionless and jaws slightly agape - with the only signs of life being the occasional movement of its legs and slight heaving of its belly. A department staff who arrived at about 7.45pm immediately administered 500ml of dextrose to boost its energy while waiting for the arrival of Taiping Zoo director Dr Kevin Lazarus. Lazarus, who arrived at about 10pm, examined the animal before putting it through sleep therapy via intravenous fluids till about 3am. "I think dehydration and sheer exhaustion were the reasons for it (failing to recover from the effects of the sedative)," he said on Friday, rating the animal’s chances of survival at 50:50. The elephant remains were taken to Taiping Zoo for post-mortem. Asked on the results of the post-mortem, Lazarus ruled out the possibility of an overdose of either the antidote or sedative as being the cause of death. "Chronic malnutrition due to the lack of proper food coupled with several other factors most probably killed the elephant. Although it looked healthy, it is still a "baby" and needs to suckle (milk from its mother) a bit. "The intestines were also damaged, signs of inadequate food and starvation. In fact, the animal was facing a slow death after being left alone (by its herd)," he said. Mat Chepor's remains were taken to the Felcra Kampung Chepor oil palm plantation and buried at the very spot it died at about 4pm, about five kilometres from Kampung Pulau Ceri where its mother was buried last month. |
| The Inquisitor |
obmar,
this is truly sad. I'm sorry, but the current human slaughter means more to me, and I want that one stopped first. Then we can worry about the elephants. |
| obmar |
Human slaughtering has always been the pasttime of the misguided since the days of Ebel and Cairne |
| The Inquisitor |
Indeed,
It is a sad testimony to the idiotic desires of mankind. |
| obmar |
but the misguided is only causing pain to himself, though he knows not. |