One of the most unique creatures on earth the world’s smallest elephant is in danger of becoming extinct as just 1,000 individual members of the species are left in the wild, but there is still some hope. The Bornean Elefant is facing this problem due to large-scale deforestation and habitat loss, this has been reported by the IUCN which also compiles the ‘red list’ which essentially consists of a list of threatened species.
The Bornean elephant is indigenous to the Island of Borneo and stands three feet smaller than its bigger Asian family members. The elephant is known for its playful and gentle nature.
“There is hope that the elephant can be saved through conservation efforts,” stated Benoit Goossens, a wildlife biologist at Cardiff University and director of the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah. The ‘red list’ of extinct and threatened species can also help further the cause by spreading awareness about the animal and boosting support.
“The message of hope is that there are many organisations in Sabah, including the government, that are working very hard to conserve the elephant.”
These elephants have evolved into a distinct species altogether. They have been a native of the Bornean Islands for thousands of years and separated from the mainland from other members of its species the elephant has developed its own unique identity.
The immediate and most serious threat to them is deforestation due to anthropogenic intervention which often results in loss of habitat and conflict with humans. Only around 1,000 individuals are currently left in the wild, primarily located in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
According to Professor Adrian Lister of London’s Natural History Museum, the elephant is distinctive in several aspects, from its youthful appearance to its relatively small size.
“We hope that by getting the Borneo elephants on to the Red List that will galvanise the efforts for their conservation to protect their habitat because the authorities will now see that the eyes of the world are on this species,” he told BBC News.
The production of palm oil and its industry has given a boost to the economies of Malaysia and Indonesia, but this has come at the cost of deforestation, which might be the main cause of animal extinction.
The elephants often come in contact with human settlements in search of food unintentionally damage crops and face retribution killing. Another danger that the animal is susceptible to is poisoning from agricultural chemicals that they might consume, says IUCN.
The Asian elephant, the largest land mammal on the Asian continent, resides across 13 countries spanning South and Southeast Asia. Elephants in Borneo have been evaluated on the IUCN Red List for the first time as a distinct subspecies of the Asian elephant.
Mike Hoffmann, ZSL’s Head of Wildlife Recovery, said: “Habitat loss, combined with conflict between people and wildlife, continues to pose a threat to both wildlife and the communities living alongside them – and this has been highlighted by the assessment of Borneo’s Asian elephants as endangered.”
The latest update in the extinction red list raises these concerns even more, with other species also facing astonishing declines across the globe. According to IUCN’s assessment of more than 1,63,000 species a staggering 45,000 are threatened with extinction.
In its recent report, the IUCN has drawn attention to the concerning situation facing reptiles on Spain’s Gran Canaria and Ibiza islands. These species are facing a significant decline, largely attributed to attacks by introduced non-native snakes.
The Gran Canaria giant lizard has now been classified as critically endangered, while the Gran Canaria skink is listed as endangered. Both species have suffered due to the presence of the California kingsnake, which was introduced to the islands in 1998.
In Chile, an ornamental cacti is threatened due to its illegal trade. The IUCN noted that the growing popularity of copiapoa cacti in Europe and Asia has fueled an uptick in illegal trade, facilitated by social media.
To add to its problems climate change further threatens its survival as some plants are slow to adapt to the range of constantly rising temperatures.
