A trip to the wildlife wilderness in Tabin, near Lahad Datu in the east coast of Sabah, East Malaysia turned tragic for Jenna O'Grady Donley, 26, a Sydney-based veterinarian.
She was attacked by a Pygmy Bornean elephant, which was apparently startled by the sounds of Jenna's camera shutter and flash in the 6.30am incident on Wednesday, 7th December 2011.
Her woman companion and guide escaped the attack at the 123,000ha wildlife re-serve about 100km from Lahad Datu.
The 123,000ha Tabin wildlife re-serve about 100km from Lahad Datu, was opened in 1984. This is the first such incident.
Below is a video of the Borneo Pygmy Elephants, smaller in size compared with African Elephants, they sometimes look friendly but menacing as wells.!!
Malaysian media reported that an Australian female tourist was gored to death by a bull elephant that charged at her as she was photographing it in Sabah's Tabin Wildlife Reserve.
This tragic incident happened approximately 6.30 am on Wednesday 7th December 2011.
Jenna O'Grady Donley, 26, a Sydney-based veterinarian, was attacked by the elephant, which was apparently startled by the sounds of the camera shutter and flash in the shocking incident.
Witnesses claimed that she could not flee in time as the elephant charged at her suddenly. Her woman companion and guide escaped the attack.
State Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said a group of women and their guide had gone to a nearby mud volcano and decided to take the wildlife trail on their way back to the resort.
Dr Ambu said the group had gone off the trail to take photographs of the wild elephant, which he suspected was a single bull.
Single bull elephants, he said, tend to be loners and were dangerous with their unpredictable behaviour.
Dr Ambu said the women had stopped about 10m from the animal and started taking pictures.
He said this might have provoked the elephant.
He added that the others escaped but the woman could not as she was the closest to the animal.
The woman's remains have been sent to a hospital in Lahad Datu.
The department's wildlife unit chief veterinarian Dr Sen Nathan said a team had been sent to check on the bull and to ascertain the situation concerning the animal.
“We have to check if the elephant was in a state of musth (when testosterone levels are high and the animal becomes aggressive and unpredictable) and see what needs to be done,” he said.
Dr Sen said this was the first time such an incident had occurred within the wildlife reserve although there had been two other cases of elephants goring humans in Sabah over the last decade.
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