There are only a thousand of them left in the wild. Bornean elephants are now classified as endangered, according to the update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list published on Thursday June 27. For the first time, this subspecies of Asian elephants, also considered threatened, has been assessed independently.
“We have gathered evidence that allows us to say with certainty that the habitat of Bornean elephants has declined by more than 50% over the past seventy-five years and that the number of individuals has also declined, explains Marc Ancrenaz, from the IUCN Asian elephant specialist group. This classification on the red list will not change everything overnight, but it is a strong signal to say that this emblematic species risks disappearing and that something must be done. »
Smaller than Asian elephants, but with larger ears and longer tails, Bornean elephants live primarily in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. The mystery persists as to the origin of their presence on this island, the third largest in the world: did they migrate during the Pleistocene epoch, when a land bridge still connected the island to the continent? Or were they introduced by man? Scientists have not yet decided between these two hypotheses.
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What is certain, however, is that the population suffered heavily, in the 1990s and 2000s, from deforestation for the benefit of agricultural activities, and in particular palm oil. “There is almost no deforestation in Sabah today but the habitat is extremely fragmented, explains Marc Ancrenaz, who has been living in Malaysia for twenty-five years and is scientific director of the NGO Hutan. Because of this fragmentation, to go from one forest to another, elephants are forced to pass through areas inhabited by humans. »
Raise awareness among villagers
In addition to poaching, which also represents a pressure factor, specialists believe that coexistence between these elephants and the population is the central issue to ensure the survival of the species. A global problem, which is found almost everywhere on the planet. Among the possible solutions in Borneo, experts highlight raising awareness among villagers and farmers to teach them how to react in the event of encounters with these animals, but also the redefinition of landscapes with the creation, for example, of forest corridors to facilitate the movement of elephants.
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