Young elephant crossing Malaysia highway with mother dies in accident with lorry, draws sympathy

A young elephant in the Malaysian state of Perak was killed in an accident with a lorry on May 11 while it was crossing a highway with its mother, drawing widespread sympathy after a video showed the mother elephant staying by her dead juvenile’s side.

The video circulating online, recorded from the view of a passing vehicle, shows the mother elephant with her head pressed against the side of the lorry, as if to free her juvenile which lay unmoving beneath the vehicle.

According to local media outlet Sinar Harian, the accident occurred at around 2am on the East-West Highway and involved a lorry used for transporting chickens.
 

Mr Yusoff Shariff, the director of the Perak Wildlife Protection and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), said the agency was informed about the accident at around 3.30am.

He was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying that “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,” he said.

“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,” Mr Yusoff was quoted as saying by local media outlet Harian Metro.

Source : https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/young-elephant-crossing-malaysia-highway-with-mother-dies-in-accident-with-lorry-draws-sympathy

Comprehension

Where did the elephant accident occur?
What kind of vehicle was involved in the accident?
What time did the accident happen?
Who was with the young elephant when it died?
What did the video of the incident show the mother elephant doing?
How old was the young elephant that died?
Who is Mr. Yusoff Shariff, and what department does he lead?
What time was the wildlife agency informed of the accident?
What actions did wildlife officers take regarding the mother elephant?
Why did they use a sedative on the mother elephant?

Discussion

How do you think animals are affected by roads built through forested areas?
What emotions did you feel when reading about the mother elephant’s behavior?
Should more be done to protect wildlife from traffic accidents? If so, what kind of measures?
What role should transportation companies play in helping to prevent such accidents?
How could public awareness campaigns help reduce wildlife-road conflicts?
Why do you think this story received widespread sympathy?
What could governments do to protect wildlife corridors or crossing areas?
How should animal rescue teams respond to such situations in a humane and effective way?
What are some examples of human-animal conflict in your country or region?
What lessons can we learn from this tragic incident?

Vocabulary

Juvenile – A young or not fully grown animal.
Lorry – A large vehicle used for transporting goods (British English; “truck” in American English).
Circulating – Spreading widely, especially online or in media.
Sedative – A drug used to calm a person or animal or make them sleep.
Deploy – To send out staff or equipment for a specific purpose.
Sympathy – Feelings of sorrow for someone else's misfortune.
Estimated – Judged or guessed based on available information.
Monitor – To watch or check something carefully over time.
Wildlife Protection – Efforts and policies to keep wild animals safe from harm.
Forest – A large area filled with trees and wild animals.