Villagers adopt 'Ladum' technique to chase away wild elephants

TONGOD - Exploding 'ladum' is one of the methods used by villagers here to drive away wild elephants that destroy farms and crops without any violence against these animals.

Ladum, a commonly used tool, is a home-made noise cannon that uses calcium carbide to produce an explosive sound. Villagers here usually make it out of bamboo or tin.

Kuamut state assemblyman Datuk Masiung Banah said that ladum is usually shaped like a bamboo cannon and blown up using spirit liquid.

"I have brought to the State Legislative Assembly meeting the problem of wild elephants that have destroyed a lot of palm estates belonging to the people in Tongod district, but no action has been taken so far.

"So the villager here has adopted their own technique to drive away the elephant herd without violence. The ladum only gives out explosion sounds to scare away the animals when they enter the palm tree areas," he said after attending a briefing in 'Aki Keramuk' on Sunday.

Aki Keramuk is a community of small-scale farmers who have taken their own measures to drive away wild elephants that are destroying the farms and crops of the villagers here using the Ladum method.

Following this, Masiung wants the Kinabatangan Wildlife Department (JHL) to be a mentor to the community of small-scale farmers who are threatened by wild elephants in the area, using the ladum method to chase the animals away.

"I have asked JHL to set up more teams in every village where these animals pose a threat.

"JHL officers will train this group of farmers so that they are skilled in the method of chasing away the wild animals without using violence," he said.

At the ceremony, Masiung approved the allocation of RM10,000 to build an Aki Keramuak community centre in the village.