Recently the Sumatran elephant conservation status has been upgraded to that of a critically endangered species. The reason for this is that during the past generation around half of its total population has been lost.
These figures have led conservation groups to demand that immediate action is taken to stop the elephant’s natural habitat from being destroyed.
The primary reason for the reduction in population numbers is deforestation, particularly in Indonesia. The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) decided to change the status of these animals as they have tracked and found a reduction in the elephant’s habitat of around 69%.
This loss has only taken 25 years which means that conservation organisations are sitting up and taking notice of what is happening. It is thought that the total population in the wild of the Sumatran elephant is now only around 1,800.
The IUCN also stated that they fear for much of this is remaining population as many of the communities of elephants are in areas that are not protected by conservation programs. To back up this statement figures were shown that indicated that in Riau Province 6 herds disappeared between 2007 and 2009.
The IUCN also stated that unless something is done urgently it is likely that these animals will become extinct in this lifetime. As the plantations in Indonesia continue to grow more and more of the natural habitat of these animals is being destroyed.
Unfortunately unless money is put into these projects the authorities in Indonesia not likely to do anything about the plantation owners that continue this destruction.
News like this comes as a blow to conservationists around the world especially since the last Javan Rhino in Vietnam was found killed by poachers in October 2011 which means that this animal is now extinct in this part of the world.
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