Perhilitan Installs LED Signboards To Warn Motorists Of Elephant Crossings

TEMERLOH, Aug 9 (Bernama) -- The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) is installing signboards with light-emitting diode (LED) lights in areas identified as elephant crossing points, said its director-general, Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim.

He said the initiative was taken to alert road users to reduce their speed in order to prevent accidents involving the animals.

“We want to prevent elephants from being involved in accidents, such as the recent case involving an elephant calf in Gerik.

“We are taking a new approach by installing signboards with LED lights, including in Gerik, Perak; Ulu Muda, Kedah; and Jerteh, Terengganu,” he said when met by reporters after the World Elephant Day celebration at the National Elephant Conservation Centre today.

He added that, in addition to elephants, the same approach was being used to protect other wild animals, such as tapirs, on Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, Selangor.

Meanwhile, Abdul Kadir said the number of wild elephants in Peninsular Malaysia was currently estimated to be between 1,500 and 1,800, but the population was declining due to shrinking habitat areas.

“When the elephant habitat shrinks, it forces these wild animals to venture into villages in search of food.

“For Perhilitan, which receives complaints (about elephant encroachment), we take steps to relocate the animals to more suitable locations in national parks where they can live and find food more comfortably,” he said.

--BERNAMA