Mother's Day Heartbreak As Mother Elephant Mourns Calf Killed By Truck

A young elephant in Perak, Malaysia, died on May 11 after being struck by a lorry while crossing a highway with its mother. A widely circulated video from a passing vehicle captured the mother elephant pressing her head against the truck near her motionless calf.

The situation was truly heartbreaking, prompting widespread sympathy among netizens.

According to Sinar Harian, the incident occurred at 2 a.m. on the East-West Highway and involved a lorry delivering hens. Director of the Perak Perhilitan Yusoff Shariff stated that the agency was notified of the accident at 3.30 a.m. “A male elephant estimated to be five years old died after it was believed to have been hit by a lorry while trying to cross the road. Our staff were deployed to the location to carry out an operation to monitor and capture the mother elephant in order to move her to a safer area

“We had no choice but to use a sedative and pull her back into the forest with a four-wheel drive vehicle at around 9am,” he was quoted as saying by HM.

Yusoff estimates the mother elephant's weight to be around 2.2 tonnes and its age to be between 25 and 27 years. He also stated that the elephant's remains have been removed for burial.

Gerik district police chief Superintendent Zulkifli Mahmood reported that initial investigations revealed a 28-year-old truck driver saw a large elephant on the road's right shoulder.

The driver continued driving after observing the animal grazing and believing everything was alright, according to Zulkifli.

“However, moments later, a baby elephant suddenly emerged from the forest on the left side and attempted to cross the road.

“The short distance made it impossible for the driver to stop in time, resulting in a fatal collision. The baby elephant died at the scene.”

This is not the first accident to occur on the East-West Highway. In fact, as the creatures deal with a declining habitat, there have been multiple human-elephant encounters there.
To avoid elephants, Perak Perhilitan has recommended drivers to stay off the highway between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
In November 2024, Yusoff announced the construction of the Perak Elephant Sanctuary, aiming to reduce human-elephant conflicts by relocating wildlife near roadways. According to The Malay Mail, the sanctuary is expected to be completed by 2029.