I think we all can agree, everyone has a favorite animal. Whether it’s an English bulldog, Saint Bernard, Persian cat, or even a mustang horse. With having a favorite animal, we may fear major problems such as extinction for their species. For my favorite animal, elephants, extinction is very possible for their species.

Lately, many conversations have been discussed about elephants becoming extinct. This encouraged me to investigate if these rumors were true. So, I decided to choose a specific elephant in helping me find the information that I needed to know. Between the Asian and African elephants, the Borneo Elephant and Sumatran Elephant really caught my eye. I was intrigued by the appearance of the Borneo Elephant (shown on the right), but decided to go with the Asian elephant specie: Elephas maximus sumatrauns, also known as the Sumatran elephants (shown on the left).

Reading a small introduction of the Sumatran elephants, I learned that they are at high risk for extinction. This prompted me into figuring out why extinction is possible for this species and what are the changes being made to help them survive.

To begin my research, I reflected back on all of the elephant facts that I was already aware of. Firstly, I know that they are stupendously large, and they can eat up to 200kgs of food. Some of the foods that they consume are: bamboo, leaves, bananas, ginger, and all kinds of vines. I also know, they stay in herds; are known for their massive trunks, teeth, and tusks; and are a very intelligent animal. Their brain is very complex and can weigh up to 5kg. Because of these characteristics, they are capable of expressing humor, compassion, grief, self-awareness, playfulness, cooperation, tool-use, and learning abilities.

With only knowing this much information on elephants, I was given the right resources and correct information on two websites: The International Elephant Foundation (IEF) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Also for my research, I conducted a phone interview with Harry Peachey, who’s on the Board of Directors for IEF and the Columbus, Ohio’s Zoo’s Elephant Manager and head keeper of Pachyderms.
Mr. Peachey has been to Asia, Africa, Indonesia, and Sumatra; he has worked with domesticated and wild elephants, both from the Asian and African groups of elephants. In April of 2000, Mr. Peachey went to Bogor, Indonesia on the Steering Committee to hold a meeting about elephant conservation problems in Sumatra. He was exposed to some very strenuous situations, tackling both the Elephant Training Centers and in-situ elephant conservation in Sumatra. He was then introduced to other issues related to an economic crisis in Asia. This led him to become active in fundraising, by doing veterinary care support for Sumatra’s captive elephant population. (International Elephant Foundation, 1998)

Lucky enough to do an interview with an elephant expert, I received a copious amount of information for my research. I learned the history of Sumatra; the reason for the dramatic decline in the Sumatran elephants’ population; deforestation, human-elephant conflict, palm oil plantations, and poaching. Having so much thorough feedback from Mr. Peachey, my research was a little easier to understand.
With only struggling to find accurate data and up-to-date news such as statistics showing the current situations on Sumatran elephants, I started off with my research. I first researched more on the characteristics of Sumatran elephants. I found out on WWF’s website that the smallest Asian elephant happens to be the Sumatran elephant. They are about 5 to 9 feet at shoulder height, 20 feet for length, and 5 tons for weight! Also, their life span usually goes up to 70 years old.

Next, on WWF’s website, I discovered the lasting number of the Sumatran elephants’ population. In 2012, studies showed that there was only, 2,400-2,800 Sumatran elephants left in the tropical forests of Borneo and Sumatra. This has caused their status to change from endangered to critically endangered. Also on WWF’s website is information about Sumatran elephants playing a significant role in their ecosystem. I wanted to learn more on this topic, so I asked Mr. Peachey about the importance of the Sumatran elephants, and what would happen to their environment if they were to go extinct.

In a very thorough description, Mr. Peachey explained a process in which the Sumatran elephants eat seeds in maintaining their ecosystem.
These seeds that elephants consume have a very tough, outer shell. Most animals, cannot digest these seeds, except elephants. Because of the unique digestive system of Sumatran elephants’, the shell of the seed is able to weaken. Once this seed is completely digested through the elephant, the bare seed’s remaining cells germinate into the soil, supporting and maintaining the healthy tropical forests. (Peachey)
Because of this process, it has helped nature create over 260 new species of plants! To conclude to my final question, I asked Mr. Peachey what he thinks would happen to the environment, if the Sumatran elephants were to go extinct.

If the Sumatran elephants were to just vanish in a matter of a day, then yes, the ecosystem would be effected dramatically. Because of the seed process with Sumatran elephants, the seeds would no longer be able to germinate in the soil. Given a lack of support for the Sumatran trees and plants. This would cause the trees to suffer and most likely die, further leading to animal problems. Because many animals get their resources from these trees and plants, they could possibly die because of the sudden drop of resources. So, to end this type of resource chain, we can see the potential even more extinctions of animals. (Peachey)

Considering this new information, I then looked at the two main stumbling blocks for possible extinction for the Sumatran elephants: deforestation and human-elephant conflict.
First, on WWF’s website, I learned:
The foremost reason for the Sumatran elephant’s status to go from endangered to critically endangered is due to half their population being lost in one generation. This was caused because of habitat loss and human-elephant conflict in the year, 2012. The Asian elephant range, Sumatra, now has one of the highest rates of deforestation; encountering many elephants in certain areas to become extinct. Statistics show in the last 25 years, over two-thirds of these elephants’ natural lowland forests have been razed, 70% of habitats have been destroyed in one generation, and overall 80% of elephant numbers have dropped! (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)
Also included with these statistics, was information on deforestation in Riau province, Sumatra. One reason for deforestation was because of pulp and paper industries and oil palm plantations. These new plantations and industries have developed countless numbers of negative effects on elephants. One of these negative effects is having multiple herds of elephants move into smaller areas in the forest, due to lost land. To emphasize on this problem, there was data taken in the 1980s on an elephant herd in Lampung province, showing only twelve elephants in existences. By 2002, plantations and industries were rapidly expanding, causing this herd of elephants to relocate. Unfortunately, because of the relocation, only three elephants survived in the herd! With the decrease of elephant population, WWF made the statement: “Only two herds are left that can be considered biologically viable.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)

I tried finding the names of those two herds, but I wasn’t able to discover any further information. I did however, come across another issue that associates with deforestation on WWF’s website. In a short explanation, they discussed about climate change. “Because of the carbon-rich soil that Sumatra’s trees are rooted in, the high rate of deforestation is causing high amounts of carbon to be released into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)

The environment has played a significant role in an animal’s lives. With the Sumatra trees being a part of deforestation, poor quality of air, and climate change, this has caused another reason on why the Sumatran elephants are dying. These are too many changes, at too fast of rate, for the elephants to adapt to.

To conclude my questions on the role of deforestation, I asked what Mr. Peachey’s thoughts were on this topic. He feels deforestation, associated with political issues, is the main reason for the population of Sumatran elephants to decline in such a short amount of time. After this insight, Mr. Peachey informed me that elephants in Asia are seen as a religious icon. I was confused by this statement; if the elephants are seen as a religious icon, then why is human-elephant conflict such a colossal issue? And in a brief explanation, this is what I received.
During the 1980s, there wasn’t many people living in Sumatra. It was mainly wildlife such as the Sumatran elephants, who had the majority of the land. However, because the government was successful in convincing people to come and work in these new programs, people started to populate Sumatra. The government told thier new workers that there was no more than 30 elephants in Sumatra; when the actually number of elephants was 3,000! (Peachey)

The workers were shocked by the dramatic difference in numbers, but they still stayed. Slowly, the environment and life of Sumatran elephants began to change. Many training centers developed and land was starting to be cultivated, which created a gargantuan amount of land to be taken away from the Sumatran elephants. Since elephants symbolized a religious image, their whereabouts were taken care of immediately.

To further my knowledge on the new locations of Sumatran elephants, I found on WWF’s website that “many local companies and communities were the ones who planned more room for elephants and humans to take place.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2014) An example of this can be illustrated by the location, Tesso Nilo.

With the help of local communities and companies, Tesso Nilo, Sumatra, became a national park in the year 2004. This park is now one of the last forest blocks big enough to support a viable population of the critically endangered Sumatran elephant. (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)
But besides these relocations for Sumatran elephants, the passion for elephants started to change. In my interview, Mr. Peachey informed me that agriculture became more liked than elephants, because of easier maintenance. Many local people of Sumatra grew greedy, and saw the elephants as more of a distraction than anything else. (Peachy)

This gave me an insight into a topic of human-elephant conflict, the Sumatran plantations. On WWF’s website, I came across the following information:
“WWF has asked for everyone in Sumatra to come together as one and help the Sumatran elephants with their habitat. They have also asked for the government of Indonesia, palm oil companies, members of the pulp and paper industry and conservation organizations to help make these actions happen.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)

From this I see a possible negotiation being made with these plantations and WWF. WWF has a goal in getting enough land and resources for the Sumatran elephants, even with the plantations involved. Being aware of this information, I then asked Mr. Peachey, his opinion on this topic. He responded: “Plantations can be seen as a threat to Sumatran elephants, because of all the land and resources such as trees, plants, bamboo, etc., being taken away. (Peachey)

Because of these plantations taking away most of the Sumatran elephants’ resources and land, they started to enter human boundaries, such as farms and plantations. They began eating crops, due to the lack of food; destroyed locals’ homes; and killed many people, by stomping them to death! The Sumatran people thought the only way to stop these elephants was by shooting them or using poison to kill them! This has created much controversial talk around the world, which brought me to research on what is being done to prevent these actions from happing.

On WWF’s website, I learned about the Elephant Flying Squads (EFS) being formed to stop the wild elephants of Sumatra. “These squad include trained rangers, noise and light-making devices, a truck, and four trained Indonesian elephants from elephant camps, in pushing the wild elephants back into the forest.” (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)
EFS has seen much success in reducing the losses of suffered local communities and companies, and conflict between people and elephants. Under company rule, there’s now four flying squads located in some parts of Riau Province and Tesso Nilo National Park. One of these squads is even directed by WWF!
Similar to this topic, I asked Mr. Peachy how he felt on the success rate for these squads. In his answer, he gave me examples from a different response group, The Sumatra Elephant Conservation Response Units (CRU), in Indonesia. On International Elephant Foundation (IEF) there was a short article on these response units. I discovered that this was an IEF project which “provides a strong link between in-situ and ex-situ elephant conservation.” (International Elephant Foundation, 1998)
Just like WWF’s explanations of supporting patrol units, “the CRU supports the conservation of wild elephants and habitat, and creates opportunities for local communities to protect their property. They want to support wildlife conservation by achieving positive outcomes for both elephants and people.” (International Elephant Foundation, 1998)
In CRU, they now have captive elephants being trained for their forest patrol. “They are used as transportation for the forest rangers and help address forest crimes, monitor wildlife, herd wild elephants away room human settlements, and provide community outreach.” (International Elephant Foundation, 1998)
To get back to my question, Mr. Peachey informed me on the difficulties and success of CRU. He only responded to CRU’s difficulties by staying, “Because of government funding, these patrols have had many limitations in other countries such as local management due to cost!” (Peachey)
His response to the successes: “However, because of well-trained elephants and trainers, there has still been a highly successful rate for the CRU. They may have had an uphill battle along the way, but over time progress has been made, and lucky enough all has been positive!” (Peachey)
The last issues with human-elephant conflict is poaching, which is an enormous trend back in the Middle East. Many animals, besides elephants, are getting poached; leading to one of the most perceptible declines in some animal species. Because of the illegal ivory market and an extensive amount of money received, the poacher business is rapidly increasing.
Poachers kill elephants for their tusks from large to tiny sizes. They don’t care if their actions are causing extinct in animal species, which is heartbreaking to hear. On, WWF’s website, I was able to see the poaching effects on elephants:
Because male elephants only have tusks, they are generally the only ones hunted. This causes the sex ratios of male elephants to lower in their population. Because of the un-portioned decline of this sex, problems for the breeding rates have led the Sumatran elephant population rate to decrease. (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)
To put an end to poaching, WWF’s wildlife patrol units are successfully looking over the Sumatran elephants by the following duties:
Watching over anti-poaching patrols; removing snares or trapping devices; educating local people on laws of poaching for their location; and help capture criminals such as poachers of these elephants. A wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, has given additional help to WWF. This partnership has helped reduce the threat of illegal and domesticated ivory markets of wild elephants, and has placed many poachers into court. (World Wildlife Fund, 2014)
Furthermore, on this topic, I asked Mr. Peachey his experience with poaching. One location that Mr. Peachey stayed at while working with elephants was Indonesia. Because Indonesia has no poaching, he fortunately hasn’t witnessed any first-hand killings of elephants. He has however, seen politics be highly involved in poaching. In a brief explanation, Mr. Peachey explained, “Overtime with different presidents and political figures in Sumatra, the outlooks of the local people have changed. Sumatra has grown many new and unique polices for itself and its elephants.” (Peachey)

From this information, I now understand that most of the Sumatran elephant’s fate can be determined by politics. Whether these “unique” polices are beneficial or not, politics always have a say into proceeding with actions.

Given all this information, I’m satisfied to see how the future for Sumatran elephants is turning out. Like my research describes in the beginning, it was two years ago when the Sumatran elephant’s status went from endangered to critically endangered.

“Extinction for Sumatran elephants is not as critically as it seems; if the progress for the Sumatran elephants is to stay positive and have slow change over a long period of time, the Sumatran elephants will not be in such critically stages for extinction.” (Peachey)
If organizations like WWF and IEF keep helping Sumatra by staying determined and positive through their journey, hopefully, Sumatran elephants will still be here for the next 100 years.

There’s still many things I don’t know about this breathtaking animal. But now being well-informed about deforestation, human-elephant conflict, poaching, Sumatran plantations, etc., I can say, I definitely expanded my knowledge in the elephant world. I can now take all this information and feel more satisfied in knowing the future of Sumatran elephants is still possible. With determination, positivity, and hope, this animal can be saved!


Resources:
"Harry Peachey." International Elephant Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
"Sumatra Elephant CRU." International Elephant Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
"Sumatra Elephant." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
Peachey, Harry. Telephone interview. 6 May 2014.