An initial chemical analysis on 14 Borneo pygmy elephants that died mysteriously could not conclusively determine if they were poisoned, and more tests will be conducted abroad, an official said Friday.
The endangered elephants were found dead last month in a protected forest in Sabah state on Borneo. Sabah is home to most of the remaining 1,200 Borneo pygmy elephants that exist worldwide.
The elephants are feared to have been poisoned because they encroached on Malaysian plantations.
Sabah Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said the state’s wildlife department would send samples to forensic testing facilities in Thailand and Australia for more comprehensive tests to determine the cause of the elephants’ deaths.
“To ensure greater transparency of the entire issue, my ministry will be seeking a second opinion from other laboratories,” he said in a statement.
Samples will be sent immediately to the Ramathibodi Poison Center at Thailand’s Mahidol University and the chemistry lab of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in Australia, he said.
Masidi said he had also directed the state’s chemistry department to expand its scope of tests on more possible chemical contaminants.
Department veterinarians have said the elephants suffered severe bleeding and gastrointestinal ulcers.
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