Ubin Elephant Gets Female Escort Home

Another article in the series on the 1991 elephant visitor on Pulau Ubin. It's interesting to note that this is not the first visitor across the straits that we've had in Singapore, there were 3 others at Pulau Tekong in 1990.


Caption reads: "One of the two trained female elephants which will help to lead the wild male out of Pulau Ubin today." Source: Straits Times

Ubin Elephant Gets Female Escort Home
Saturday, March 9, 1991
The Straits Times
Image of the actual article [0.6MB]

The wild elephant which has made its home in Pulau Ubin for more than a week will be going home this morning.

Yesterday afternoon, two trained female elephants arrived on the island to help in moving the runaway male elephant, believed to have swum over from Johor.

It will be released into the Endau-Rompin reserve on the border between Johor and Pahahg.

The two trained females, Cik Mek and Mek Bunga, had helped move the tree wild elephants captured on Pulau Tekong in May last year.

Also called monitor elephants, they are part of the Malaysian Wildlife Department's Elephant Capture and Translocation Unit.

The unit had assisted Singapore authorities in trapping the runaway elephant on Ubin.

The presence of the stray elephant was first known when it attacked an islander on March 1 with its trunk.

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"Jumbo Hunt on in Pulau Ubin"

Jumbo Hunt on in Pulau Ubin

During the 1991 visit from an unexpected visitor from across the straits, a fury of newspaper articles traced the "jumbo hunt" on Pulau Ubin.


Caption reads: "Mr Tan Kit Sun, the zoo's assistant curator, helping to track the elephant down to the eastern and central parts of Pulau Ubin yesterday. According to his estimates, based on the animal's footprints found in the soft earth behind the shrine, the animal stands about 2.3m high at the shoulder."

Jumbo Hunt on in Pulau Ubin
Saturday, March 9, 1991
The Straits Times
Image of the actual article [0.6MB]

Mr Ngo Tai Leong, 64, was probably accidentally hit on the head by the elephant's trunk while praying at the small shrine in the jungle on Friday.

Mr Bernard Harrison, the Singapore Zoological Gardens' executive director, who was in Pulau Ubin yesterday to supervise the tracking, added that the animal was probably ambling around in the jungle looking for food when he came across the man around 11.30pm that night.

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"Ubin Elephant Caught"

Ubin Elephant Caught

In 1991, an elephant from across the Straits of Johore visited the island of Pulau Ubin and caused considerable excitement on the island. Below is one of several newspaper cuttings taken from The Straits Times of the media coverage of the time.


Caption reads: "The chained elephant... it is expected to be brought back to Johor tomorrow"

Ubin Elephant Caught
Saturday, March 9, 1991
David Miller
The Straits Time
Image of the actual article [1.6MB]

PULAU UBIN - The elephant which injured a man and damaged a taxi on Pulau Ubin was caught yesterday morning.

The 2.3 metre-tall bull was tranquillised by a single dart fired from the rifle of a Malaysian wildlife ranger.

It is expected to be returned to the jungle in Johor tomorrow.

Early yesterday morning, experts from the Johor Wildlife Department set out to track it.

Residents on the island were asked to call the police post if they saw the elephant.

At about 8.15am, one villager did, saying that he saw the animal in the north-western part of the island.

The hunters went there immediately and found the elephant 40 minutes later.

"The elephant wasn't aggressive. It made one mock attack when it was shot, but then retreated," said Mr Tan Kit Sun, the zoo's assistant curator.

It ran off towards a clump of trees, where it collapsed about six minutes later, when the sedative took effect.

The Singapore's Zoo veterinarian, Dr Shirley Llizo, who examined the animal while it was sedated, said it was in good health.

The animal, estimated to be between seven and 10 years old, was chained to a nearby tree to stop it from moving around.

A team from the Malaysian Wildlife Department's Translocation Unit is expected to take the animal back to Johor, where it is believed to have come from, tomorrow.

To do this, a special ramp will be built leading up to a lorry. Two trained elephants will then sandwich the captured animal and lead it onto the vehicle for its homeward journey.

Even though it has been captured, the authorities are restricting visits to the island.

Police are waiting to see if any more elephants are sighted on the island.


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