IN the early hours of May 11 this year, Malaysians woke up to heartbreaking news that a young elephant calf had been fatally struck by a lorry along the East-West Highway near Gerik, Perak.
That Mother’s Day was marked by collective grief, as eyewitness accounts and viral videos of the incident flooded social media.
The footage depicted the harrowing scene of the calf's mother desperately trying to revive her offspring – moving the lorry to free her trapped calf – and then maintaining a prolonged vigil by the roadside before she was sedated and safely escorted away.
The tragic incident sparked widespread public outcry, highlighting the escalating conflict between humans and displaced wildlife and renewed calls for effective solutions to protect both.
Human-elephant conflict (HEC) has been escalating as forested areas are cleared for development, disrupting the elephants’ natural migratory routes.
This not only leads to increasing clashes with humans – often due to farmland encroachment and crop destruction – but, as seen in May, can tragically result in the death of iconic wildlife.
UTP’s ELEFence is a safe, non-lethal barrier that diverts elephants from highways. Unlike electric fences, its sturdy, habitat-friendly design has proven effective in real-world tests in Pahang.
According to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), a total of 6,853 cases of HEC were reported from 2015 to 2024.
What’s more, road accidents involving animals are also on the rise. Since 2020, a total of 2,361 wild animals have been killed by vehicles nationwide – with large mammals like the Malayan tapir topping the list of roadkill casualties.
With only an estimated 1,200 –1,700 Malayan elephants remaining in the wild and forest corridors disappearing, wildlife authorities face mounting pressure to implement effective, sustainable solutions that protect both animals and human livelihoods.
At Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), researchers at the Smart Infrastructure Modelling and Monitoring (SIMM) Centre under Institute of Smart and Sustainable Living (ISSL), have formed a collaboration with the Perhilitan to develop sustainable HEC mitigation solutions.
These efforts are showing promise and scalability.
“UTP’s solutions represent a convergence of ecological research and engineering expertise, guided by policy frameworks and operational partnerships with Perhilitan.
“We see technology as a driver of long-term conservation, not just a quick technical fix. This partnership ensures these tools are rooted in real-world conditions,” says ISSL Institute director Prof Dr Shahrina Nordin.
She adds that UTP’s commitment to elephant conservation aligns with Malaysia’s National Elephant Conservation Action Plan (NECAP 2.0), which prioritises habitat connectivity and conflict reduction.
“Innovation must bridge the gap between development and ecology. Our partnership with Perhilitan ensures these tools are not just theoretical but deployable where they’re needed most,” she adds.
The ELESensor system enables real-time smart monitoring for timely maintenance and enhanced fence reliability in wildlife zones.
One such innovation is ELEFence, a non-lethal physical barrier designed to deter elephants from entering high-risk zones such as highways.
Unlike electric fences, which require maintenance and pose risks, ELEFence is designed to withstand the strength of elephants, and its modular components allow for quick installation and minimal maintenance.
“We’ve designed the ELEFence to take high lateral bearing, requiring low maintenance, is modular and baby elephant proof,” says UTP civil and environmental engineering chair and SIMM member Prof Dr Hisham Mohamad.
Consisting of IBS-reinforced concrete column, an innovative substructure element and horizontal steel strands, he says a 35m stretch of the ELEFence was piloted at the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Pahang in 2021, where it passed with flying colours.
Hisham and his team simulated various scenarios to test the robustness of the ELEFence, including factoring the strength and craftiness of the mammals.
“Elephants – as clever animals and would – for example, use tree trunks to topple a fence or barrier.
“We simulated such a scenario by placing tree trunks on the fence and found that even though there was some slack, it was easy to return the wires to the initial tension.”
Following the successful pilot, plans are underway for the ELEFence to be deployed along a section of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) at the Kemasul Forest Reserve in Temerloh, Pahang.
This stretch, Hisham adds, is a hot zone with significant elephant movement, as reflected in Perhilitan data.
UTP Provost Prof Mohamed Ibrahim (seventh from left) and Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim (fourth from right) at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing to deliver real-world conservation solutions by engineering innovation and advanced technology.
“Discussions are underway on the design of the fence, which will span 7km on each side of the rail line,” he says, adding that UTP as the technology partner is also in the process of designing the ELEFence for deployment at two elephant sanctuaries – in Johor and Perak.
Hisham notes that with some simple tweaks and adjustments to the fence’s steel strands, the ELEFence can also be deployed to prevent other large mammals such as tapir, from entering villages or agricultural areas.
In addition to the ELEFence, Hisham and his team have also come up with the ELESensor, an electric fence system fault detection system.
Electric fences have long been deployed to control animal movement, but these as Hisham points out, are prone to faults resulting from breakage, wear and tear, overgrown vegetation and weather conditions, all of which make maintenance crucial.
In Malaysia, Perhilitan is responsible for maintaining electric fences developed under a government project and installed along the edges of forest reserves.
However, a lack of manpower has made this task increasingly challenging, he says.
“Monitoring a 20km stretch of electric fence on foot, for example, will take days and there may also be instances where faults go undetected for some time.
“That’s when the elephants will cross the fences easily, resulting in human-elephant conflict. This is why we came up with the ELESensor.”
The ELESensor, which is mounted on the electric fence at intervals, is embedded with sensors that measure the fence’s voltage, its tilt as well as detect short circuits.
Information from the ELESensor – essentially an internet-of-things device – is sent wirelessly through LoRaWAN gateway and in real time, enabling timely maintenance and repair of the electric fences.
Apart from deployment within the country, both technologies have received attention from other countries looking to mitigate HEC, such as Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Hisham, who led the team behind both innovations, believes that the ELEFence and ELESensor technologies can be applied at oil palm plantations and for animal conservation initiatives.
“We see many opportunities where our expertise in engineering technology can be used to support industry as well as contribute to society and the nation.
“Our goal is not only to protect wildlife, but to make roads and communities safer in places shared with elephants, especially considering recent tragic events,” says Hisham.
To learn more about ELEFence and ELESensor, email aizat.mohamad@utp.edu.my or hisham.mohamad@utp.edu.my
