Only 1,325-1,648 wild elephants left in Indonesia, government says

Filed 1d ago · Via Mongabay · The Buffoon Desk

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Decline

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Number 10 · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Indonesia's new 10-year elephant conservation plan estimates 1,325 to 1,648 wild elephants remain, down from a 2007 estimate of 2,400 to 2,800 — a apparent decline of 41 to 45%. Officials insist the lower number reflects better data and methodology rather than an actual population crash.

Nearly all of the animals are critically endangered Sumatran elephants, with only five to 13 Bornean elephants left in Indonesia's portion of that island. Habitat loss from palm oil and pulpwood plantations is cited as the main driver, and only 23% of the remaining elephants live in protected areas.

Even conservationists involved in drafting the plan acknowledge the count required negotiated 'agreement' between groups using inconsistent survey methods, and outside experts say the number should be treated as provisional pending standardized surveys.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

Calling a 41% drop a data artifact is a neat trick, but the elephants dying in oil palm plantations aren't disappearing because of a spreadsheet update. When the agreed-upon number depends on debate rather than a count, that's not precision — that's a guess with a committee's blessing.

Source: Read the original at Mongabay → Scored: Decline · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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