Borneo Pygmy Elephants Throng Lodge in Kinabatangan

On 3rd of August 2011, the news had it that a herd of wild Borneo Pygmy Elephants (Elephant maximus borneensis) paid a surprise visit to the Sukau Rainforest Lodge at the river bank of Kinabatangan River, Sabah. According to reliable source, within Borneo the elephant is only found in south and south east of Sabah. Their origin here was a mystery as there is little fossil evidence. One theory suggested that they were gifts to the Sultan (king) of Sulu (in the Philippines) in 1750 who released them into the forest rather than keeping them as pets. However, recent genetic tests by WWF Malaysia in 2003 has identified this elephant as a distinct subspecies
that has evolved in Borneo.