Disabled Elephant Eats With Her Feet

JAKARTA, April 13 (Antara) - Erin (4), a female Sumatran elephant (Elephas Maximus Sumatranensis), was hit by a horrible fate after her trunk was truncated by poachers. Now, it is difficult for her to eat properly. The endangered and protected elephant has to bow her head down or be fed by her caretaker. "While other elephants eat with their trunk, Erin has to bow down. She eats fruits by bringing them closer to her mouth with the help of her feet," the Deputy Chief of Elephant Respond Unit Team (ERU) of Tegal Yoso, Tri Sulistiyono, said in Way Kambas National Park in East Lampung District. Erin is a wild elephant who lives in the Elephant Conservation Center, Way Kambas National Park. She was found near the Rawa Arjo border in Way Kambas on June 23, 2016. The officers found Erin in an ailing condition, and her trunk was truncated by a poacher's trap, which was set for wild deer and boars. She was monitored by the Way Kambas's ERU team until she was left behind by other wild elephant herd. A team of doctors from Way Kambas Elephant Hospital had been monitoring her from the first day she was saved. Erin's health has been continually improving. Today, her weight is 470 kilograms, which is twice her weight when she was found. The case of Erin is a proof that poachers have become a dangerous threat to the lives of endangered animals, including elephants, which are protected in Sumatra. "The poachers have become the main threat to wildlife, either in the traditional or the systematic way of hunting. They not only hunt elephants but also deer and Sumatran rhinoceros," Sulistiyono revealed. The team hopes that creating awareness among people can prevent the number of elephants from decreasing. "We hope people will not see elephants as pests. Humans should share space with elephants, because people need to live and so do the elephants," he added. The campaign has also been conducted by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-Indonesia Program, which considers poaching activity to be the main cause of the decreasing population of elephants. Rescue The WCS mentioned that for the past eight years, at least 26 elephants were found dead in Way Kambas National Park area. The team assumed that the deaths were caused due to poaching. But the Way Kambas National Park authorities have denied the released data. In 2011, the WCS found about six dead elephants, comprising five males and one female. In 2012, a female elephant was found dead, and in 2013, three elephants were found dead. The WCS also found two dead elephants in 2014 and six elephants in 2015. "In 2016, a male and two female elephants were found dead. Four dead elephants were also found in 2017," the WCS noted. In 2018, a female elephant, around 20 years old, was found dead in Resort III Kuala Penet Way Kambas National Park Area on Monday (Feb 12) morning. The officer who found her body discovered the teeth and ivory to be missing. Gunshot wounds were also found on its head and chest. According to the data of WCS, the population of wild elephants in Way Kambas National Park was recorded to be 247. The population number might surpass the estimate due to frequent poaching activity. A survey conducted by WCS in 2002 showed that there were 220 elephants in Way Kambas National Park. The number increased in the following years. In 2010, the result shows that the number of elephant population was 247. The DNA test also revealed that the population of female elephant was higher than male elephants, with a sex ratio of one to six. The association has expressed concern about the decreasing population of wild elephants in Way Kambas forest in the future, especially related to the ecosystem and the science and knowledge. They have urged people to protect the wild elephants and not to hunt them. The existence and preservation of Sumatran elephants as well as other animals, including the Sumatran tigers and the Sumatran rhinoceros, have become the main indicators that the endangered and protected species conservation must be sustained in Sumatra's forest. Two areas of forests in Sumatra, namely the Way Kambas National Park and Bukit Barisan National Park in West Lampung, or West Coast of Lampung and Southern Bengkulu, should be preserved. Both National Park managements have confirmed that the main threat to the conservation of endangered animals is poaching. Besides, forest encroachment, which interferes with the habitat where the animals feed themselves, has also become another threat. Humans must engage in thoughtful and serious attempts, involving all parties, to save Sumatran elephants, in order to prevent them from ending up like Erin.