A rescued baby elephant in Sabah, that was saved but had to have its foot amputated after getting caught in a snare trap died suddenly from its injuries Tuesday (June 21st) evening.
According to the Malay Mail, state Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment, Datuk Jafry Arifin said the female calf died at around 6:15 pm while being treated by veterinarians from the Wildlife Department.
“The baby elephant showed positive progress by eating and drinking as normal after its surgery to amputate its foot on June 20th,” he said.
Photo via The Star
The calf then appeared to suffer a relapse the next day but responded positively after it was some medication.
In the evening, its condition deteriorated again and it had trouble standing up and eventually stopped breathing at 6:15 pm.
“The post-mortem showed that it died from organ failure, specifically its heart, lungs, and internal digestive system. Veterinarians believe this to be the result of the injuries it sustained from the snare,” Jafry explained further.
He believes that the veterinarians did all they could to help the poor baby and expressed sadness that it had died.
“I hope this kind of injury and death do not happen again in the future. I appeal to all Sabahans to come together and stop such snare trapping which is not only against the law but also needlessly cruel to our wildlife, especially endangered species such as the elephants,” he added.
It was reported that the baby elephant, with an estimated age of around two years old, had limped for days on an almost severed foot before a team from the Wildlife Rescue Unit tracked it down and treated it by amputating its right foot.
The poor baby had been caught in a snare trap and was first sighted in Tungku, Lahad Datu, Sabah.
This broke our hearts. But at least the baby elephant is not in pain anymore!
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
