Borneo Elephant Sanctuary (BES) is Sabah’s natural-habitat refuge program set up to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It is developed and designed especially for sick or needy elephants that have been injured due to human and elephant conflict incidents. The sanctuary is found in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, covering an area of approximately 12 square kilometers.
The elephants found in Sabah are known as the Borneo Pygmy Elephant. The Borneo Pygmy Elephant is a small Asian elephant that grows up to 2.5 meters long and lives in subtropical and tropical climates in Borneo Malaysia and Indonesia. Today, there are fewer than 1500 Borneo Pygmy Elephants in the wild. Therefore the work carried out at BES is critical to their survival as a species. These elephants are being affected by logging in their habitats which is shrinking the area they live in, cutting them off from essential food supplies. The first phase of the Bornean Elephant Sanctuary project was started on 1 October, 2012 by Borneo Conservation Trust. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia together with Wildlife Department of Sabah will make an announcement once it is decided if the program will be opened for the public.
