JERANTUT: A banana farmer's hopes for a bountiful harvest on his smallholding at Felda Gelanggi Dua were dashed yesterday after a herd of wild elephants destroyed his crops.
The elephants trampled around 150 banana trees, including the popular 'pisang tanduk' and 'berangan' varieties, while consuming some of the fruit.
Farmer Muhamad Ridzuwan Che Dan, 41, said he was shocked to find the banana trees, most of which were fruiting and ready for harvest, completely ruined when he arrived at the 1.2-hectare smallholding at 8am.
"All the banana trees were destroyed, but fortunately, the elephants did not damage the Musang King durian trees, which were planted about three years ago. I believe the herd attacked the farm between midnight and dawn.
"The fencing I had put up to prevent wild boars from eating the crops, along with the pipes from the nearby stream, were also destroyed. I now face a loss of RM20,000 and will need to save enough money before I can start the repairs and replant the banana trees," he said.
Ridzuwan mentioned that last month, some Felda settlers had informed him about the presence of a herd of elephants in the nearby Sungai Kijeng forest, but he did not expect the animals to attack his farm.
Meanwhile, he hopes the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) will consider installing electric fencing to prevent the elephants from returning to his smallholding.
"Perhaps they could build electric fencing along the perimetres of Felda Kota Gelanggi and the Sungai Kijeng forest, so the animals remain in their natural habitat and do not enter the oil palm plantations," he said.