Critically endangered Sumatran elephant born in western Indonesia

Critically endangered Sumatran elephant born in western Indonesia

The species is on the brink of extinction, with only about 2,400-2,800 left in the world.

The 108kg male calf was born at the Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province in southern Sumatra. (Wikimedia Commons pic)
JAKARTA:
A critically endangered Sumatran elephant was born in western Indonesia over the weekend, according to officials, giving renewed hope to conservation efforts after several other baby elephant and rhinoceros births in recent months.

Weighing about 108kg, the yet-to-be-named male calf was born at the Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province in southern Sumatra, the ministry of environment and forestry said yesterday.

The calf was in good health and his mother Riska was being monitored after giving birth on Saturday, the ministry said.

Riska had a female calf in 2017.

The new addition to the elephant herd at Way Kambas comes after a baby Sumatran rhino was born there in September and another baby elephant was born at a different national park in Sumatra that same month.

“Hopefully the birth of various wildlife indicates conservation efforts for protected species in the National Park…have been executed well,” said Satyawan Pudyatmoko, a conservation official.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, Sumatran elephants are on the brink of extinction, with only about 2,400-2,800 left in the world.

The elephant population is threatened by rampant poaching for their tusks, which are prized in the illegal wildlife trade.

The archipelago nation faces an ongoing battle against wildlife crime, and several elephant poisoning cases have been reported in recent years.

Deforestation has reduced the critically endangered elephants’ natural habitat and brought them into increasing conflict with humans.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.