Elephants of Borneo, Borneo

Bornean elephants tracked by satellite

“We re-collared one bull named Gading (it was first collared in July 2008) and collared two females named Putut (she has a very short tail) and Jasmin,” said Dausip, from WRU, who led the team ... “Extensive agriculture through palm oil plantations has considerably reduced the habitat of the elephant in the Kinabatangan, therefore increasing human-elephant conflicts.

“The herd there, estimated at about 200 to 250 individuals, find it difficult to move between flooded lands, swamps, fenced plantations, villages and nature lodges.

“It is time that we act to reestablish quality habitat and provide space to the elephants in the Kinabatangan,” said Goossens.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/10/3...d-by-satellite/

The article also mentions “uncontrolled tourism with sometimes up to 20 boats aligned along river banks, less than five meters from where the elephants graze, increases the pressure on the herd."

Sanctuary For Rescued Pygmy Elephants To Begin This Year

Sabah Wildlife Director Dr Laurentius Ambu said 2,000 hectares of land has been reserved for the sanctuary, known as the Borneo Elephant Wildlife Sanctuary, in Kinabatangan.

"We do not intend to house all the (rescued) elephants there. We will keep the animals there for treatment and then we will release them back into the wild," he told reporters after the opening of the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Colloquium 2012 here Monday ...

The sanctuary, to be operated by the Sabah Wildlife Department and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, will consist of a rescue facility and a research and education division.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/state_news/...782&cat=sbe

New wildlife haven for Sabah

"This sanctuary can hold 15 to 20 elephants at a time. There are 60 to 100 elephants waiting to be rescued from remote areas in Sabah like Kalabakan. So you can see how important the sanctuary is for elephants that are outside totally protected areas."

http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/new-wi...4#ixzz1j4sYsXc9

Borneo elephants now classified as totally protected species

"This means that as far as our elephants are concerned, if you kill, you go to jail," he said when closing a wildlife conference here yesterday.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNew...111-321124.html

Abandoned baby elephant rescued

LAHAD DATU: An abandoned male baby elephant, believed to be a few weeks old, was rescued by the Sabah Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit at a plantation, about 40 kilometres from the Lahad Datu town, on Saturday.


Read more: Abandoned baby elephant rescued - Top News - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/abandoned-b...3#ixzz1kCAqCgdO

I'm sure they will do all they can to save this little one's life - and especially so since the pygmy elephants are so threatened.

Keeping this calf in our thoughts ...

An NGO document on the area. Good pics.

A way out for trapped Borneo elephants, Borneo Conservation Trust, Japan, Sep 2011

http://www.bctj.jp/project/rescue/news/0920news.pdf

Some connections to help us keep track.

Laurentius Ambu is the Director of the Sabah Wildlife Dept. and on the staff of the WWF-Malaysia. You see his name in most of these articles.
http://www.wildlife.sabah.gov.my/About.htm

The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) is under the Ministry for Tourism Development, Environment, Science and Technology.
http://www.wildlife.sabah.gov.my/About.htm

The Dept of Wildlife is charged with:
"Protection and conservation of wildlife and associated tourism products, and provide opporunities for tourism development through research, identification of potential tourism spot, eco-tourism partnership, and technical assistance."
http://kepkas.sabah.gov.my/about-us/


Action Plan to Protect Sabah's 3 Iconic Animals, Jan 13, 2012
[orang-utan, elephant, rhinoceros]

Stakeholders:
-Sabah Wildlife Department
-Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC)
-Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT), Japan
-Danau Girang Field (research funded by: Houston Zoo, Columbus Zoo, etc. p4)
-HUTAN – Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme
-WWF-Malaysia
-The Rhino and Forest Fund
-SOS Elefanti

http://kepkas.sabah.gov.my/2012/01/13/acti...iconic-animals/

Also connected to:
Berlin's Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

Thanks for all your input on this topic, t&tt.
Such an indictment of man's selfishness and rapacious greed that these 3 "iconic" animals have for so long been disregarded and brought to the verge of extinction.

A further article, with a little more info, about the severely injured calf and the plans for a 3,000 acre "sanctuary":

Malaysia saves endangered pygmy elephant on Borneo

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Malaysia...Borneo_999.html

[This is an AFP article, so copyright laws may apply]

Conserving forests paying jumbo-sized dividends

"Based on the study, wildlife experts are urging the state to retain all remaining lowland forests which support elephants under natural forest management and not convert these areas into plantations ...

Borneo Conservation Trust research and conservation head Raymond Alfred said elephants had travelled longer distances in disturbed areas in search of food and water."

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...5037&sec=nation

What a Bornean elephant wants: more protected forests and wildlife corridors

"We would highlight two recommendations to ensure the long-term conservation of the Bornean elephant:
--all remaining lowland dipterocarp forests which support elephants should be retained under natural forest management and must not be converted to plantations;
--and forest disturbance needs to be minimized wherever wild elephants occur." [bullets-emphasis mine]

"We believe that the decision to stop logging activities in Ulu Segama-Malua Forest Reserves will have a positive impact on the elephant population there." Conservationists further hope to establish a wildlife corridor through palm oil plantations to connect herds in the Lower Kinabatangan River region to those in the Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve.

http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0216-hance_b...anelephant.html


Research paper:
Home Range and Ranging Behaviour of Bornean Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) Females, Alfred, et al. Feb 2012.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%...al.pone.0031400

A useful overview.

The elusive Borneo pygmy elephant

Smaller by some 600 centimetres to one metre than their other Asian counterparts, and less aggressive, they have rounded faces, larger ears and longer tails, which sometimes sweep the ground. They are a chubbier species of elephant.

http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/02/19/th...pygmy-elephant/

Elephants using ‘survival’ corridor

KOTA KINABALU: The fragmentation of the forest habitats is one of the key challenges to ensure the survival of the Bornean elephants in Sabah.

The ‘Melapi elephant corridor’ in Sukau has proven that even a strip of land 50 meters wide makes a difference to facilitate the migration of the Bornean elephant herds in Lower Kinabatangan.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/11/el.../#ixzz1opaPmnSh

First female elephant collared at Segaliud Lokan Forest

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/03/13/fi.../#ixzz1ovhV2bUO

Sanctuary Hits Snag

THE Borneo Elephant Wildlife Sanctuary, which was expected to be ready by the middle of the year for the Borneo Pygmy elephants and other wildlife driven from their habitat, has hit a snag. There is a shortage of experts to train the elephants. In fact, there is only one specialist in the state.

http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/sanct...ts-snag-1.70991

Deforestation Pits Elephants Against Man in Nunukan

Elephants are increasingly coming into conflict with humans in the East Kalimantan district of Nunukan as more of the forest is cleared away for palm oil plantations and timber estates, a wildlife activist said on Friday ...

He said that despite their smaller size, elephants in Kalimantan required about two hectares of forest to feed each day.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/nvironment/...-nunukan/509695

KIWI Elephant Researcher Up To The Tusk

http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express...-up-to-the-tusk

Pygmy elephant relocated to forest reserve

“We agree that oil palm is necessary for the development of the country. However, there is a need to better manage the landscape within and around plantations by providing routes for wildlife to move from one forest to another.

“Our programme includes fitting translocated elephants with a satellite collar, before we monitor their movements and migratory patterns to identify the best areas for conservation and the establishment of corridors for elephants,” he said.

http://www.nst.com.my/latest/pygmy-elephan...reserve-1.90920

Elephant herd helps researchers identify new sanctuaries

KOTA KINABALU: A herd of elephants is helping researchers identify areas that need to be set aside as wildlife forest corridors in Sabah's lower Kinabatangan region.



http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...7647&sec=nation

Scientists turn to genetics to help protect pygmy elephants

Sharma and colleagues want to see how genetic diversity is distributed within the Borneo elephant population and how the fragmentation — or breaking up — of their forest habitat is affecting it by, for example, isolating groups of elephants. Increased isolation can be problematic because it means inbreeding, which can lead to more sickly and vulnerable animals. Their results suggest low genetic diversity in the pygmy elephants.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50203150/ns/te...e/#.UMxNMHdinp8

Segaliud Lokan has enough food for elephants

KOTA KINABALU: A forest reserve in eastern Sabah promises one of the best hopes to conserve the Bornean elephants, a joint study at various locations in the state by the Sabah Wildlife Department and a non-governmental organisation here found.



http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...5061&sec=nation

Poison suspected in pygmy elephant deaths

Ten endangered Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in a Malaysian forest in a suspected poisoning.

Fast losing their natural habitat to deforestation and human encroachment, there are estimated to be fewer than 1500 of the baby-faced species remaining.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/anima...l#ixzz2JMXttltE

Poisoned pygmy elephants

And there's nothing like DWST to help this poor young orphan.

Thanks to a member of TEC Facebook for the link to this copyright article.

10 Rare Pygmy Elephants Found Dead in Borneo

http://www.pawnation.com/2013/01/29/10-rar...dead-in-borneo/

Warning - the photostream contains some very distressing images.

The Australian Team Bona (regular readers of this discussion board will be familiar with the rescue and healing of liitle BONA in Sumatra - see the Rescue, Retirement, Relocation forum) are trying to secure the future of the orphaned calf.

Save Bona The Elephant posted this 5 minutes ago:

Update> We've sent an email to Sabah Wildlife Department, the vet who rescued the calf and on to various emails addresses at Sabah National Parks to no avail. As Jude Price has mentioned, the calf is now in the care of Lok Kawi Wildlife Park but there are no contact details listed. Trying to get in touch to see if they would like us to ship a quantity of Bona's supplements. If anyone is local in Malaysia and can make a few phone calls, let us know.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheElephant...#!/savebona

More information about the killings. The surviving calf, a 3-month old bull named Kejora, is being cared for at Lok Kawi Wildlife Zoo.
There is now a topic for Kejora on the Rescue, Retirement, Relocation forum.

Vet witnesses elephant calf tugging at its dead mother

“Post mortem was done on all of them and it looks like their gastro-intestinal tract had severe haemorrhages and ulceration with some bleeding from the mouth and anus,” said Dr Ambu.

“We suspect that it might be some form of acute poisoning from something that they had eaten (natural toxins or pesticides) ...

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...2008&sec=nation

Will Travers of Born Free UK spoke on national radio this morning.
There is a link to the programme on Will's blog.

Elephants poisoned in Borneo

http://www.bornfree.org.uk/blog/2013/eleph...oned-in-borneo/

More bad news in this copyright report.

More Dead Pygmy Elephants in Malaysia, Toll at 13

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/internation.../568613#Scene_1

Thorough probe over death of elephants: Musa

"People come from all over the world just to catch a glimpse of these animals. It is unfortunate that there are people who would resort to such a horrific act, " he said. Bernama

http://www.nst.com.my/latest/thorough-prob...s-musa-1.210164