Facts About Asian Elephants
Facts About Asian Elephants
Facts About Asian Elephants
The Asian elephant has been worshipped for centuries now it could be facing extinction in the wild
Although revered by many Asian cultures, the Asian elephant is being pushed to extinction. While there are over 15,000 Asian elephants in captivity, only 25,60032,750 are thought to roam wild in the tropical forests of Asia, less than a tenth of the number of wild African elephants. These remaining populations are mostly small, isolated, and fragmented because their ancient migratory routes and habitat have been interrupted by expanding human encroachment.
Indian Elephant Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. WWF-Canon / Jeff Foott
At a glance:
Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia 25,600-32,750 Endangered (IUCN-The World Conservation Union)
Indian elephant at sunset, Rajaji National Park, North India. WWF-Canon / A. Christy Williams
Poaching
Even where suitable habitat exists, poaching remains a threat to elephants in many areas. In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the international trade in ivory. However, there are still some thriving but unmonitored domestic ivory markets in a number of Asian, and other, countries which fuel an illegal international trade. Although most of this ivory comes from poaching of African elephants, Asian elephants are also illegally hunted for their ivory, as well as for their skin. In some countries, political unrest is disrupting, and even preventing, monitoring and anti-poaching activities.
conservation biology with trade monitoring, community development, socio-economic analysis, public awareness campaigns, dialogue with traditional medicine practitioners, capacity building, and policy advocacy.
5. In Indonesia, WWF recently celebrated the Indonesian governments creation of Tesso Nilo National Park, which covers 385.76km2 of Riau Province, Sumatra. It is one of the largest-remaining lowland forest blocks on the island and home to tremendous biodiversity. WWF will develop a comprehensive strategy in Tesso Nilo for managing human-elephant conflict and re-establishing corridors to other protected areas. 6. In northern Borneo, Malaysia, WWF has been collaborating with the Sabah Wildlife Department to create a GIS (Geographical Information Systems) database to help in planning the conservation of elephant habitats in an area of over 24,300km2. In addition, WWF is actively working with the owners of logging companies to convince them to adopt sustainable land-use practices that will minimize conflict with elephants. 7. In many Asian countries, WWF is working with TRAFFIC the international wildlife trade monitoring network organized and operated as a joint programme by and between WWF and IUCNThe World Conservation Union to reduce the threat that illegal and illicit domestic ivory markets pose to wild elephants. TRAFFIC also manages a global record of ivory seizures, called ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) for CITES, that helps to identify trade routes and countries of particular importance in the illegal trade. 8. WWF also works with a number of protected areas that support populations of wild elephants, such as Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan), Xishuangbanna Reserve (China), and Kerinci-Seblat National Park (Indonesia). Throughout the Asian elephants range, WWF and its partners have had measured successes in reducing conflict through education and changing land use practices in and near elephant habitats, but there is still much more to be done in order to ensure a brighter future for elephants in the wild.
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