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The government of
Indonesia began establishing Elephant Centers on Sumatra in 1986 in an
attempt to relieve human-elephant conflicts. Today there are six Centers that hold approximately 400 elephants.
Indonesian veterinarians receive little or no elephant training and have few supplies to treat common health problems such as parasites, marginal nutrition, and wounds. External funding and professional support is
critical to the welfare and survival of these unique Sumatran elephants.
Our project is designed to meet the long-term needs of these elephants and
their caretakers. (see our extensive image gallery and below
for a more complete perspective)
Project
Newsletters from Sumatra
Full Review of Project Introduction Introduction
The
goals of the Sumatran Elephant Healthcare and Conservation Project are to
improve the healthcare and management of Sumatra’s captive elephants and
to facilitate their participation in conservation efforts. Specific
aims are to provide healthcare training, produce and distribute veterinary
information (in Indonesian), and procure veterinary equipment and supplies.
Funds
for this independent project are raised by project coordinators Mikota and
Hammatt who work in Indonesia (as unpaid/volunteer consultants) under the
auspices of WWF-Indonesia.
WWF-Indonesia
is actively campaigning to establish a managed wild elephant range in the
proposed Tesso Nilo sanctuary, the largest remaining lowland forest on
Sumatra. A recent
study
has shown that Tesso Nilo has twice as
many plant species per area as any other lowland forest in the world.
Captive elephants will support this conservation effort within local
communities through human-elephant conflict mitigation, park patrol, and
education programs.
Tropical
biodiversity conservation is a global concern. Endangered Asian
elephants can serve as a “flagship” species to facilitate preservation
of this diversity. Elephant ranges are vast – when elephant habitat
is protected, tropical biodiversity is protected.
The
"Pocket Elephants" of Sumatra The endangered Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) is the smallest (and perhaps oldest) of the Asian subspecies and is unique to the island of Sumatra. It has been protected in Indonesia since 1931. Population surveys conducted in the 1980’s estimated that only 2800 – 4500 wild elephants remained. It is likely that even fewer survive in today’s fragmented forests. The term "pocket elephants" was originally coined to refer to their diminutive size, and also reflects their survival today in the few remaining "pockets" of lowland rainforest.
History
of Elephant Centers on Sumatra
Prior
to 1950, the wild elephants on Sumatra moved freely in a rich and diverse
habitat largely untouched by man. The island was sparsely populated.
However, the population of Indonesia has more than doubled in the last 50
years and Indonesia is now the world’s 4th most populous nation.
As
a result of this population growth, the government of Indonesia instituted a
transmigration program to relocate people from the crowded island of Java to
less densely populated islands including Sumatra. The increasing
population of Sumatra began to take its toll on the environment as forests
were converted to agricultural uses. The rate of destruction has
increased dramatically in the last few years due to the establishment of two
of the world’s largest pulp mills in Riau province.
The
combined effects of road development, logging, conversion of forest to
agriculture, and human resettlement have contributed to the loss of
thousands of hectares of elephant habitat. As habitat shrinks,
elephants are forced into conflict with humans. The destruction of
crops and houses results in injuries and deaths of both humans and
elephants.
Villagers
faced with raiding elephants demanded that the government resolve the
problem. To these villagers, the elephants were just dangerous
crop-raiding pests. Occasionally, angry villagers have poisoned
elephants. Unlike other Asian countries, with strong elephant
traditions, elephants are not revered in Indonesia.
In
response to these human-elephant conflict problems, the Indonesian
government began establishing Elephant Training Centers (ETC’s) on Sumatra
in 1986. It was intended that the centers would capture and train
“problem” elephants for use in logging, patrol work, and tourism.
Because
it has been several centuries since Indonesia has kept domesticated
elephants, the knowledge and skills for their capture and training elephants
was lacking. Thai mahouts and elephants were brought in to train Indonesians
in these methods.
Today there are six provincial ETC’s (11 total sites) that hold approximately 400 elephants. Projected demand for trained elephants has not materialized and the government resources budgeted for elephant care are inadequate. It has been suggested that the ETC's should be called Elephant Conservation Centers” (ECC’s). This term has gained wide acceptance, but has not been officially sanctioned by the government.
Husbandry
and Healthcare Issues A
number of reports in recent years have identified veterinary care as one of
the most important issues impacting Sumatra’s Elephant Centers.
Underlying many of these issues are management and husbandry factors that
contribute to or precipitate medical problems.
Clinical
problems such as intestinal parasites, superficial wounds, and bloat often
go untreated due to a lack of supplies and / or expertise. Many wounds
and deaths are caused by unsanitary capture techniques or training
practices. Supplementary food supplies are not always available, and
mahouts are often insufficiently motivated to locate adequate natural browse
for the elephants in their care.
Most
centers do not possess the facilities, equipment, and supplies that are
needed to provide basic healthcare. Some are in remote locations and
receive only sporadic veterinary visits. There is no communication
system between the centers. Resources for elephant healthcare and
handling information are almost non-existent.
The monthly ECC budget for food is about 300,000 rp per elephant (~ $30 US). The monthly veterinary supply budget is less than one U.S. dollar per elephant, and even this is often used to purchase food rather than veterinary supplies. Pawangs (elephant handlers) earn 300,000 rp / month (~ $ 30 US - and the government often pays only half of this salary. The Riau Elephant Center was established in Riau Province in east central Sumatra in 1988. It is located 115 km northeast of Pekanbaru (a city of 1,000,000) and about 30 km southeast of Duri, a Caltex oil company community. A local decree designated 5000 hectares (~12,500 acres) for the Center in 1992. Villagers burned down the Center in 1993 and it was rebuilt at its present site in 1994. Squatters have established three villages on ECC land. The illegal cutting of forest and conversion to oil palm plantations have reduced the elephant preserve to fewer than 500 hectares. Illegal logging within the primary site (Sebanga-Duri) has escalated, forcing the elephants to be moved to other satellite facilities to find adequate food and water (Minas and Dumai).
During
our initial trip (April 2000), (together with field vet, Dr. Wahdi
Azmi of Fauna and
Flora International) we conducted a medical evaluation of 41 of 60 elephants
at the Riau ECC. Over a 7-day period we established medical records,
administered tetanus vaccinations and de-worming medications, collected
blood samples, initiated treatment for current health problems, and set up a
small pharmacy.
Previous
reports and a return trip to Sumatra in August with the International
Elephant Foundation (IEF) made it clear that continued support was needed.
The problems confronting these elephants could not be solved by sporadic
visits. It was with this realization that our independent program to
assist Sumatra’s elephants was launched. We felt that relatively
straightforward solutions to these problems could be achieved given
sufficient funding and training. We wanted to be on-site to provide
the needed care, training, and support.
External
funding together with guidance from experienced elephant veterinarians and
managers is critical for the long-term welfare of the Sumatra’s elephants.
Proper accountability of funding is essential for the support of long-term
donors and can be facilitated by an in-country presence.
Sumatran
Elephant Project Goals and Objectives
There
are 400 captive elephants on Sumatra. We would prefer that they were
wild, but they are not. They deserve care. There are Indonesian
veterinarians, but they need training and support. There is
international interest, but it must be directed and donors must be confident
that their support provides tangible benefits for the elephants.
Our
goals are to improve the healthcare and management of Sumatra’s captive
elephants and to facilitate their participation in conservation efforts.
Objective
1: Continue to improve the healthcare of Riau’s 60+ captive elephants
Objective 2: Develop a Sumatran Elephant Resource Center This project will establish an externally funded Elephant Resource Center in Sumatra, Indonesia. The Elephant Resource Center will be a conduit for international material support and information to improve the healthcare and management of Sumatra’s 400+ captive elephants. Specific aims are to translate and distribute veterinary information, procure veterinary equipment and supplies, and provide training for elephant healthcare providers. This project will result in 1) better veterinary care for this unique and endangered elephant sub-species, 2) improved morale and status for Indonesian elephant veterinarians, 3) accountability for foreign donors and 4) captive elephants that are capable ambassadors for the protection of their wild counterparts and their habitat.
The Elephant
Resource Center office will be established in Pekanbaru in Riau Province.
Indonesian staff will include a Resource Center Coordinator, a Senior
Veterinary Field Officer, and a secretary. The activities of the Resource
Center will complement those of PHKA (the Directorate Forest Protection and
Nature Conservation), the central government agency that manages Sumatra’s
Elephant Conservation Centers (ECCs). Specific objectives are to:
Project ScheduleJanuary 2003 – January 2005. We are committed to raising funds to support this program for 3 years. Year one is considered a pilot program subject to evaluation and revision. If the program achieves the outlined goals, our plan is to identify an NGO that will continue its support long term.
WWF
Asian Elephant Conservation
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