25th Jan 12
Sumatran elephant now critically endangered
by Natasha Redman
Big issue: experts worries Sumatrans could soon be extinct
Big issue: experts worries Sumatrans could soon be extinct
The Sumatran elephant is now listed as a critically endangered species after half of its population was lost in a single generation, triggering conservation groups to call for emergency measures in order to prevent its habitat from being destroyed.
Deforestation is viewed as the main reason for the fall in numbers across Indonesia, which until recently was regarded alongside Sri Lanka and India as one of Asia’s final remaining great refuges for elephants. The animal is now faced with the possibility of being extinct within decades.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) raised the risk assessment after discovering that 69 per cent of the animal’s natural habitat has been lost during the last 25 years. With their forests converted to plantations, burned or felled, the wild population has dropped to around 2,800.
In its most recent ‘red list’ of endangered species, the IUCN stated that many of the elephant communities that are remaining were likely to disappear due to the fact that their natural habitat is not in a protected area, meaning there greater risks of conflict with people.
It cited studies revealing at least six herds died off between 2007 and 2009 in the province of Riau, a centre for the pulp, palm oil and paper industries. It warned that it seems certain this pattern will continue.
As plantations have grown, Sumatra has suffered some of the world’s highest deforestation rates. Conservation groups claimed the Indonesian island has seen over two-thirds of its lowland forest – the natural habitat for elephants – disappear over the last 25 years.
With the risk assessment being upgraded, WWF urged an immediate moratorium on destruction of habitat. The WWF’s global species programme’s director Carlos Drews said that the Sumatran elephant is now on a growing list of species from Indonesia which are classed as critically endangered, including the Sumatran and Javan rhinos, the Sumatran orangutan and the Sumatran tiger.
He explained that unless effective conservation action is taken urgently, these magnificent animals are expected to become extinct within our lifetime. The WWF has advised the Indonesian government to look at large habitat patches which could be listed as protected areas, and connected with smaller habitat via a conservation corridor network. Over the longer term, it recommended that authorities could consider forest restoration and habitat expansion.
However, without more funds or public pressure, the authorities in Indonesia will likely continue their backing or turn a blind eye to plantation owners and loggers. The threat update comes on the back of a raft of grim conservation news regarding habitat loss, poaching and consumers’ lack of awareness.
In October, the Javan rhino became extinct in Vietnam after the final one was discovered dead with its horn sawn off and a bullet in its leg. The following month Africa’s western black rhino was declared extinct, while there are warnings in Indonesia that the Sumatran rhino is almost extinct.
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