Two starving pygmy elephant calves have been rescued by wildlife authorities on Borneo after they were apparently abandoned by their mothers.
Plantation workers discovered a two-year-old female elephant stuck in a moat on Friday, two weeks after a 6-month-old female was found wandering in another plantation in Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state.
Laurentius Ambu, director of the state wildlife department, said: ‘We have never had this experience before where the mothers abandon their babies.’
Abandoned: Two baby pygmy elephants, similar to the one pictured, have been rescued by wildlife officers in Borneo
He said officials were now investigating what may have caused the mothers to leave their young. It was not clear how long the elephants had been alone.
Both elephants will be kept at a wildlife park in Sabah.
Borneo pygmy elephants, which are genetically distinct from other subspecies, are known for their babyish faces, large ears and relatively long tails.
Mr Ambu estimated there are about 1,400 to 2,000 pygmy elephants in Sabah.
They remain endangered, but their number has stabilized in recent years amid conservation efforts to protect their jungle habitats from being torn down to create plantations and development projects.