However, the authorities had yet to identify the type of the poison. “We will investigate further,” she told reporters here today.

The two female Borneo pygmy elephants were found dead at a plantation in Sukau and in the Dermakot Sandakan Reserve Forest.

The two deaths are the the second and third cases this year following the first carcass found at Lower Kinabatangan last month.

Liew said the state government had approved the Sabah State Elephant Action Plan (2020-2029) in an effort to resolve the conflict between humans and elephants in the state.

Borneo pygmy elephants form a subspecies of the Asian elephant and are the smallest elephants in Asia. They are listed as an endangered species and are protected under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment.