Elephants of Sumatra, Indonesia, Now "Critically Endangered"

Focus on Sumatra, Indonesia

Sumatran elephants driven closer to extinction: WWF

The Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild in under 30 years.... IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, raised its listing of the Sumatran elephant subspecies from "endangered" to "critically endangered" after nearly 70 percent of its habitat and halve its population has been lost in one generation.

"Forest concession holders such as pulp and paper companies and the palm oil industry have a legal and ethical obligation to protect endangered species within their concessions."….In the last 70 years, Indonesia has lost both the Bali tiger and the Java tiger.

http://bit.ly/xQIOlY

This post has been edited by Space4Eles on Mar 21 2013, 09:14 AM

Sumatran elephant upgraded to critically endangered status

Species has lost half its population and 69% of its habitat through deforestation in the past 25 years

... without more public pressure or more funds, the Indonesia authorities are likely to continue to support or turn a blind eye to the loggers and plantation owners. The threat upgrade follows a flood of grim conservation news due to poaching, habitat loss and a lack of awareness among consumers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012...d?newsfeed=true

Sumatran Elephants Slideshow

Some beautiful images - thank you for posting, crm.

One of the photos on the stream is of Lembang and her calf.
For a little more info, and about Surabaya Zoo, please see the "Lembang gives birth" topic on our Elephant Births forum.

This post has been edited by Space4Eles on Dec 13 2012, 11:26 AM

The last picture was sad. She looked like she had lots of (healed) sores on her body. I hope she's in a better place to live now.

Featured video: wild Sumatran elephants on camera trap video

Project creator, Marten Slothouwer, says that the people at the end of the video are bird catchers who may also be looking for other species such as pangolin and slow loris, both of which are desirable in the blackmarket wildlife trade.


Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0411-sumatra...l#ixzz1rlx2IrqM

Elephant Population in Jambi Endangered

Due to the shrinking of the forest as a habitat for Sumatran elephants, especially in forest areas ... Jambi, the animals that once numbered more than 50 head, now stands at only about 14.

http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasiona...-421780,uk.html

Either this disputed area is "habitat of elephants", or it's "used by elephants only to cross". Either way, it needs sorting.

Just 14 elephants left ...

Thanks to a member of TEC Facebook for drawing attention to this disturbing news:

Hundreds of hotspots burn Tesso Nilo National Park, threatening elephants

According to Syamsidar, Tesso Nilo National Park is prone to fire. This is because many lands have been illegally overtaken by encroachers. Moreover, hot and dry weather benefited encroachers, allowing them to burn forest which is converted to oil palm plantations.

"We worry the fire will disturb rare species like Sumatran elephants in Tesso Nilo National Park," Syamsidar noted. Sumatran elephants have recently been unlisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Tesso Nilo National Park covers 83,000 hectares, but around 35,000 hectares has been encroached by residents and corporate developers, much of it converted into oil palm plantations or settlements. Elephant habitat is in an alarming state according to authorities. Fire in elephant habitat may trigger conflicts between the huge animals and humans; a conflict that usually ends in the death of the Sumatran elephants.

Read more: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0808-wiharda...l#ixzz22yu17QSt

Riau Conservation Head Fatally Trampled by Elephant

The head of the Riau Elephant Conservation Center died on Friday after being trampled by a 20-year-old elephant at the center’s Minas training center.

M. Taat was checking the health of an elephant named Reno when the large animal attacked him, conservation division head of Natural Resources Conservation Center Riau Syahimin, told Antara news agency on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, he was alone when the incident happened,” Syahimin said. “Other employees noticed it after he called for help.”

Conservation center staff said it was unlikely the attack was intentional.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/riau-c...elephant/536520

Eijkman, WWF agree partnership to conserve Sumatran elephants

“By using a non-invasive technique, we can determine how many elephants there are and map out a pattern of the distribution of the species, their family classifications and other ecological aspects,” he said regarding the partnership he signed with Eijkman Institute chairman Sangkot Marzuki at the institute's office today.

The DNA-based test, which uses the feces of the elephants, aims to conserve Sumatran elephants with a particular focus on Tesso Nilo National Park (TNTN) in Palalawan regency in Riau.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/01...-elephants.html

Video interview:

Taronga Zoo saving elephants

http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/wat...ving-elephants/