Based on data of the Indonesian Elephant Conservation Forum (Forum Konservasi Gajah Indonesia) in 2014, of 56 habitats of Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) in Sumatra, 13 of which are no longer found the elephant populations or allegedly extinct. Status of the existence of elephants in eleven others were declared critical habitat and the other two in a critical threshold.
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| Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus). (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1t3sqoX) |
The cause of the extinction of elephants from their natural habitat was allegedly killed or died due to the motion shrinking and lack of food. Such conditions occur in the six habitat of elephants in Riau, three locations in South Sumatra, two locations in Jambi, and each of the locations in Bengkulu and West Sumatra.
The elephant habitat in Jambi is badly fragmented that disrupt the movement of a group of elephants. "There is a change of behavior and feeding patterns as habitat turned into oil palm plantations, rubber, and acacia," said Krismanko Padang, Chairman of the Indonesian Elephant Conservation Forum (Forum Konservasi Gajah Indonesia/FKGI) in Jambi on Monday, November 17, 2014.
Among experts and wildlife conservator predict the threat of extinction of the Sumatran elephant in sight. Without saving the remaining forests, Sumatran elephants certainly disappeared in just 10 years into the future.
According to Nazaruddin, Chairman of the Indonesian Mahout Forum (Forum Mahout Indonesia) and the elephant Conservator, shrinkage increasingly uncontrollable natural forest in the last 5-10 years. He is looking at a number of elephant habitats have been lost with the changing the forest into the roads and monoculture plantations.
"Some groups elephant I've ever encountered in boundaryof Bengkulu-Lampung, Riau and South Sumatra is not there anymore," said Nazaruddin. Currently only the Way Kambas National Park which is still considered adequate and safe as the elephant habitat, he added. A number of other forest areas, although still good vegetation conditions, very threatened encroachment, logging, and poaching.
For example, in the ecosystem buffer of Taman Nasional Bukit Tigapuluh (Thirty Hill National Park) in Tebo, Jambi, initially the forest in good condition and suitable as elephants roaming space. Along ripped the forest area for wood product distribution corridor along 80 kilometers by PT. WKS five years ago, increasingly easy access to triggering the forest encroachment. In addition, forest cover area shrank 80 percent. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | KOMPAS]
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