Wild elephants in Indonesia

Wild Elephants in Indonesia

Historically the numbers of wild elephants in Indonesia have been underestimated. The provision of tracts of largely uncharted forest on both Sumatra and Kalimantan led to a lack of awareness of elephants. Since the mid 20th century, there has been a substantial immigration to Sumatra and significant deforestation as a result.

Contact and conflict with elephants increased and as a result, population figures were revised upwards.

The main problems involving wild elephants in Indonesia are:

Habitat Loss – The wild forests of Indonesia are being converted for commercial use at an unprecedented and unsustainable rate.

Human-Elephant Conflict – Deforestation and the accompanying habitat shrinkage have led to major conflict with elephants in Sumatra. Elephants raid food crops, destroy rubber, palm oil and coconut plantations and even more seriously, are increasingly responsible for the destruction of villages and a growing number of human deaths.

Poaching – Much of the alleged poaching in Indonesia is actually more attributable to farmers protecting their crops and killing eleattributes bowustration.

The response of the Indonesian government to these growing problems has been highly unusual. Originally it was proposed to cull the problem elephants by shooting. However, an outcry from the international and domestic public led these plans to be shelved. Instead, the authorities have been capturing and either relocating or domesticating wild elephants. Most of the elephants are being held in Elephant Conservation Centres, but these are filled beyond capacity and are overcrowded.

This policy has now halted, but the problems of human-elephant conflict still remain on a massive scale. Unlike many of the Asian elephants range states, there is not a deep cultural attachment to the elephant in Sumatra and little sympathy for the future of the animals in political circles or in communities which regularly come into contact with elephants. This makes the task of conserving Sumatra’s unique species of elephants that much harder.

Not much is known about Kalimantan’s elephants. They live in the extreme north of the province and there is known to be considerable cross border migration into Borneo.

5 Things to Know About the Sumatran Elephant

The Sumatran elephant, found only in western Indonesia, is one of several critically endangered species that call Indonesia home. Others include the Javan Tiger and Javan rhinoceros, green sea turtle and Borneo birdwing — a species of butterfly. According to the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, a global conversation group, the elephants are vital in maintaining the biodiversity of the island to which they are indigenous.
But the number of Sumatran elephants is dwindling as urban development and agricultural expansion to make way for palm oil and other types of agriculture cuts into their habitats.

On Feb. 21, wildlife authorities found the remains of seven dead elephants outside Tesso Nilo National Park, home to some of the largest remaining rainforests in plantation-rich Riau province in central Sumatra. WWF in Riau said they were allegedly poisoned. Wildlife authorities have not released results of their investigation and no suspects have been named.

Riau has seen its elephant population drop dramatically over the past decade, according to WWF. Since 2004 it has recorded 128 elephant deaths in the province, most of them due to conflicts with humans or poaching.

Here are a few other things worth knowing about these gentle giants.


1. Critically Endangered
Sumatran elephants are part of the Asian elephant family, which are slightly smaller than their African counterparts. Male Sumatran elephants have relatively short tusks, while females’ tusks are hidden behind their upper lips.

These elephants are protected under an Indonesia law on conservation approved in 1990 and were listed in 2012 as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Prior to that they were recognized simply as endanger).

2. Population dwindling
The current Sumatran elephant population lies somewhere between 2,400 and 2,800, according to WWF, which estimates that around 330 elephants are currently living in Riau province.

As forested areas where these elephants once roamed have been converted into plantations, however, tensions between them and the surrounding community have increased, said Syamsidar, a communications officer with WWF in Riau.

“Their ranges have changed, so people get upset, because they think these elephants have caused them problems,” she said. In recent years dozens of elephants have died due to poisoning, she added.

3. Not enough space to roam
Elephants typically consume around 150 kilograms of food and 180 liters of water each day. They also require spaces of up to 20 kilometers to roam freely.

Ideally, while walking around the forests, elephants leave seeds — carried in their feces — that help the forest regenerate. As their range of movement becomes more limited due in part to deforestation, their population and that of other species suffers, said Ms. Syamsidar.


4. Poor law enforcement
Under Indonesia’s law on Conservation of Living Resources and their Ecosystems, people are prohibited from taking, killing or trading in protected species. Anyone who violates the law could face a maximum punishment of up to five years in prison and a fine of 100 million rupiah ($8,600).

Muhammad Zanir, a spokesman for the government’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency in Riau, said the government does its best to enforce the law, but lack of skilled staff makes it difficult. When elephants are found dead, for example, “we need to take them to a laboratory for testing,” he said. “And that takes time and money.”

5. Human contact adds a threat
Poaching by hunters who want their tusks is one of the main reasons the elephant population has been declining, said Mr. Zanir. Increasing contact with humans is another.

By nature, elephants do not pose a threat to people, said Ms. Syamsidar. But by continuing to traverse once-forested areas converted into plantations or farmland, they inevitably come into contact – which sometimes leads to conflict.

Sometimes they feed on or trample crops, she explained. “People view the elephants that roam in their plantation areas as pests.”

According to WWF, conflicts between humans and elephants in Riau province resulted in damages to plantations amounting to an estimated 1.99 billion rupiah ($31.7 million).