KUALA NERUS: Residents of Kampung Pengkalan Atap in Batu Rakit here were alarmed when a wild elephant encroached on their residential area.

       Mazlan Mat Jusoh, 53, said the elephant had damaged a car and demolished the fence of his house.

       His wife Wan Rasyidah Wan Yusoh noticed the presence of the elephant at about 6.20am yesterday, he added.

       “My wife was cooking in the kitchen when she heard a noise at the back of the house. Then she spotted a dark and tall thing wandering around.

       “She woke me up and I saw an elephant crashing into the fence of the house and walking towards my mother’s house next door.

       “After that, I found the back of the car dented, possibly by the elephant,” he said when met by reporters at his residence here, as reported by Bernama.

       Terengganu Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director Loo Kean Seong, when contacted, said the male elephant, estimated to be 10 years old, was seen roaming in Kampung Sungai Taron in Setiu last Saturday.

       He said the elephant, estimated to weigh two tonnes, was caught by his team after it was shot with a tranquilliser in the village at around 10am yesterday. Efforts are underway to relocate the animal.