Doubts over elephant link to death in Jerudong

THE absence of signs of disturbance, both to its "play area" and of its behaviour, dismisses the possibility that a chained three-tonne elephant was involved in the death of a woman found in Jerudong last Thursday, according to animal doctors familiar with "Cheta's" care and treatment.

Public speculation has placed the lone Asian elephant at the centre of an investigation into the supposed violent death of a Chinese woman, after she was found within the captive herbivore's open domain at the housing area of the Jerudong Park Country Club (JPCC).

In response to numerous questions from the public, as well as to dispel rumours circulating over the Internet, The Brunei Times talked to a government veterinarian involved in Cheta's treatments.

Dr Diana Dennis of the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood's Livestock Industry division rejected the scenario that the woman was mangled by the "typical, docile" female elephant that, apart from her Thai keeper, has human interactions with members of the public who know about her and try to feed her.

"Why would she go into a rage... for no reason, no sound was heard, no trample of the area inside where the scene (of death) was. I don't see any trees being toppled down and I don't see a mess," Dr Diana said in an interview on Saturday.

"Everything is too neat and tidy, like the way (Cheta's area) should be (and) always been for years."

"So that itself for me, is the jigsaw puzzle that doesn't fit in this picture," she told The Brunei Times.

After visiting Cheta soon after the start of police investigation into the case which has so far ruled out any suspicion of foul play Dr Diana said her usual demeanour was not one expected of a an elephant living in years of solitude away from her own kind and had just attacked and killed one of the human beings that she has formed a "symbiosis" with for food and care.

"That's not (the nature of) an elephant. She would still remember that she feels uncomfortable. So probably, the keeper would say the next day, 'the elephant's agitated' (and) maybe refuse to eat for a few days, maybe even refuse to see people for a few days because she's been enraged.That's an elephant," she said.

"But today (Saturday) she is fine. Friday she was fine."

The large mammal, which could easily break the chain that is used to tie it to a tree, should have also run away because of the incident, Dr Diana pointed out.

"I don't think she felt the need to leave."

She was informed that Satil, the Thai national who basically lives alone with the elephant at a secluded simpang in the JPCC area, was asked by police to move the elephant at 4am Thursday morning. Dr Diana said that had the elephant been agitated, her carers would have had to tranquilise her to remove her from the area.

"But no, (Satil) woke up, took the chain like normal business and moved her," she said, adding that for an enraged elephant: "That's very odd."

Dr Diana believed that any signs that the elephant may have touched or trampled on the woman's body was out of curiosity and not from an attack.

"Because that is her play area. So it's like finding something in your living room. You would pick it up and look at what it is," she said.

"But her being very calm, that very night itself, that is very strange. But like I said, she's the only witness to the whole thing. If you could only speak elephant language, she'll be able to tell more."

Meanwhile, a foreign veterinarian who has been directly employed in Cheta's care for a number of years and visits her weekly, agreed the accusations against the roughly 25-year-old elephant were not typical of her behaviour.

"I know if she's okay. She gets naughty once in a while. I've known some strangers have gone in (to her area), and she just pushed (them) away. She don't go and kill or anything," said the veterinarian whose identity could not be disclosed.

"Usually elephants don't attack you like a tiger goes straight to you and go for the kill. They will chase you off first. They threaten you to tell you to go away... Her ears will come out, and she'll trumpet," the foreign doctor added.

"And if you are still approaching, then she thinks 'You are endangering me'. then she'll go and chase again.".

The veterinarian explained that elephants, which are known for their impressive sense of memory, would only attack outright if it had a "personal vindication" against the human.

"They don't go straight and pick you up, unless they are looking for you. (If) they hate you. they know you've done something because they have good memory."

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that Asian elephants number between 25,600 and 32,750, with almost a third of them in captivity. Due to habitat encroachment and other reasons, Asian elephants kill more than 100 people in India annually, according to the WWF.

When asked for an update on the case on Sunday, a Royal Brunei Police Force spokesman reiterated that no foul play was suspected and that they were waiting for an official statement from the coroners.

(Additional reporting by Koo Jin Shen) The Brunei Times