State health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the Johor wildlife and national parks department (Perhilitan) is closely following up on the incident involving a cow elephant and three male calves.

“Perhilitan is currently investigating. Samples from the elephant carcasses have been collected for further analysis.

“The cause of death is still under investigation. All the elephant carcasses will be buried at the site,” he said in a statement today.

Ling also advised the public to report any conflicts between wild animals and humans to the authorities, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

Earlier, several images and videos showing four elephants discovered dead in a plantation were circulated on social media.

Johor Perhilitan director Aminuddin Jamin, when contacted, said the department would perform a thorough necropsy on the animals to determine the cause of death.

“So far, we can’t confirm if these elephants died from poisoning or other causes,” he said.

On April 13, Perhilitan director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said they had identified elephant crossing locations nationwide, including in Johor, along the Kahang-Jemaluang, Kota Tinggi-Mersing and Kluang-Kota Tinggi roads.