Protect the Borneo Pygmy Elephant
- by: Victoria Koch
- recipient: International Union for Conservation of Nature, ASEAN-WEN , and USAID, the US Agency for International Development
Elephas maximus borneensis, the Borneo pygmy elephant is found only in Sabah, Borneo.
There are only an estimated 1500 left on the planet. These low numbers mean threats to their survival can have a harsh impact.
According to a DNA analysis conducted in 2003 by columbia University and WWF, these elephants, that have been separated from other elephant populations for 300, 000 years, are a genetically distinct group.
Existing on a diet of palms, grasses and wild bananas, and minerals from limestone outcrops, these elephants need large areas in which to feed and live, but their forests are shrinking, in part due to the insatiable demand for palm oil as an ingredient in many processed foods and products.
Illegal logging in the upper catchment basin of the Kinabatangan River has cut off their access to essential feeding grounds. With such low numbers, the Borneo elephant needs habitat and a high ratio of males to females in order for them to survive.
Borneo elephants need real action in the form of control of illegal logging, palm oil mills, encroachment of human settlements, and hunting that threaten their existence They need protection from habitat loss and deforestation so that the species can continue to survive.
Signatories to this petition are asking the International Union for Conservation of Nature, ASEAN-WEN , and USAID, the US Agency for International Development, to increase their efforts to stop deforestation and habitat loss by controlling illegal logging, human encroachment and palm oil milling in Sabah, particularly in the area where the tributaries and catchment basin of the Kinabatangan River are found, and to increase protections of all kinds to the Borneo Pygmy Elephant.
International Union for Conservation of Nature
IUCN Conservation Centre Rue Mauverney 28 1196, Gland, Switzerland
ASEAN-WEN
ASEAN-WEN Program Coordination Unit
C/O Department of National Parks,
Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) Ground Floor,
Piroj Suvanakorn Building 61 Phaholyothin Road,
Lad Yao,
Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
US Agency for International Development
United States Agency for International Development
Attn: Office of Inspector General
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20523
Re: Protection of the Borneo Pygmy Elephant
Elephas maximus borneensis, the Borneo pygmy elephant is found only in Sabah, Borneo. There are only an estimated 1500 left on the planet. These low numbers mean threats to their survival can have a harsh impact. According to a DNA analysis conducted in 2003 by columbia University and WWF, these elephants, that have been separated from other elephant populations for 300, 000 years, are a genetically distinct group. Existing on a diet of Palms, grasses and wild bananas, and mineral from limestone outcrops, these elephants need large areas in which to feed and live, but their forests are shrinking.in part due to the insatiable demand for palm oil as an ingredient in many processed foods and products and even dangerous substances, like napalm. Illegal logging in the upper catchment basin of the Kinabatangan River has cut off their access to essential feeding grounds. With such low numbers, the Borneo elephant needs a high ratio of males to females in order for them to survive. Borneo elephants need real action in the form of control of illegal logging, palm oil mills, encroachment of human settlements, and hunting that threaten their existence They need protection from habitat loss and deforestation so that they can survive. Signatories to this petition are asking the International Union for Conservation of Nature, ASEAN-WEN , and USAID, the US Agency for International Development to increase their efforts to stop deforestation and habitat loss by controlling illegal logging, human encroachment and palm oil milling in Sabah, particularly in the area where the tributaries and catchment basin of the Kinabatangan River are found.
Respectfully,
By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.
Having problems signing this? Let us know.