Fruit Left For Elephants By NGO Creates Road Hazards For Drivers

Perak Perhilitan has warned small vehicles to avoid the East-West Highway (JRTB) at night due to increased elephant foraging.

However, volunteer patrols have discovered that an NGO is attracting elephants to the roadside by placing fruit piles along the JRTB, increasing the risk of dangerous encounters for drivers.

Mohd Amir Faizal, a volunteer with the Sungai Petani Response squad, stated that their patrols since May 11 have found numerous fruit piles.

Source: Mohd Amir Faizal's FB.
He added that an NGO representative had previously inquired about placing fruit beside the highway, and despite his warnings against it, photographic evidence suggests this advice was ignored.

"Volunteers have observed these fruit piles being placed at night in at least three locations - near Titi Gajah, the JRTB Construction Memorial, and close to the Jeli district in Kelantan,” he told Bernama, adding that leaving mangoes and bananas by the JRTB roadside, a wildlife habitat with elephants, bears, tigers, leopards, and tapirs, is misguided and dangerous.

He cautioned on his Facebook account that this could mislead others into thinking they are helping wildlife, emphasizing that wild animals are self-sufficient and roadside feeding endangers drivers.

This practice, however, is hard to restrict, given the current circumstances, in which, according to Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Yusoff Shariff, there are no explicit regulations authorising enforcement against persons who feed wildlife in these areas.

"There is no legal provision, including under Perhilitan, that permits enforcement against this act. For now, our approach will be to raise public awareness through education and signage,” he says.

According to a recent report by Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, between 2020 and 2024, 2,361 wild animals were killed in road accidents throughout Malaysia, with Pahang accounting for the greatest number of fatalities.


To address wildlife-vehicle collisions, Nik Nazmi says the government is taking a number of initiatives including allocating RM250 million this year to increase the size of forest reserves in important states.

The funding enables state governments to strengthen forest protection efforts,” he said, adding that plans are also under way to establish more elephant sanctuaries in Johor, Pahang, Perak and Terengganu.