Expert warns elephants’ psychological damage could become permanent
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Natural Heritage Protection Association (Peka) has questioned the Taiping Municipal Council’s response to concerns over the condition of three elephants transferred to Japan.
Peka said new expert evidence indicated that the animals may be experiencing increasing signs of psychological distress.
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Its president Rajesh Nagarajan said the council had been presented with evidence documenting ongoing signs of distress in Dara, Amoi and Kelat, collectively known as DAK, and called for a response from the council.
“On what basis does it continue to maintain a position that this evidence does not support?”
On Aug 8, the council told an English daily that Amoi was not showing signs of distress, while maintaining that the welfare and health of all three elephants remained a priority.
Rajesh said the latest assessment by elephant expert Dr W. Keith Lindsay described the behaviour of all three elephants as “profound and habitual zoochosis”, a stress response seen in captive wild animals whose environment does not meet their needs.
He said this happened just five months after their transfer to Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan and was based on a documented pattern observed over months, not an isolated video clip.
He also argued that pointing to weight figures and feeding schedules while overlooking evidence of behavioural distress fails to provide an honest assessment of the situation.
“The two pictures do not agree, and the public is entitled to know why the council has chosen to present only one of them,” he said in a statement.
Rajesh addedd that the council owed the public an answer on what basis it continued to maintain a position the evidence did not support, and that the association was considering all legal avenues to compel a response.
The association call on the council to stop repeating unsupported claims and act urgently to bring DAK home for rehabilitation at the Kuala Gandah sanctuary.
Lindsay, in his statement dated Aug 10, said the condition of the elephants had worsened considerably since his earlier reports in May and June.
He reviewed 27 additional video clips taken during July, when temperatures in Osaka reportedly reached 40°C. Kelat was seen displaying stereotypic swaying in 13 of 21 clips, Amoi in six of 18, and Dara in four of 18.
“It is likely that, if allowed to continue, the damage to the elephants’ psychological wellbeing could become long-lasting, if not permanent.”