Tracking wild elephants to identify conservation areas and corridors

Dr Diana Ramirez and Marvin George from Widlife Rescue Unit collecting blood from Dara’s ear.

KOTA KINABALU: The Wildlife Rescue Unit (WRU) from Sabah Wildlife Department darted two female elephants, one adult and one juvenile in Gunung Rara Forest Reserve.

The two females were part of the herd from which 14 individuals died from unknown cause.

Dr Diana Ramirez, wildlife veterinarian for WRU, said the adult female, named Dara by WRU rangers, was set up with a satellite collar provided by Danau Girang Field Centre.

“We also collected blood from Dara and a juvenile female from the same herd, following a request by the State Wildlife Enforcement Task Force. One of the causes of death of the 14 elephants could be an emerging or unknown disease. By analysing the blood of the living elephants from the same herd, it could help identifying the disease, if any,” explained Ramirez.

Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) director Dr Benoit Goossens said by collaring an adult female from the herd, they hope to identify the movements of the herd within the changing landscape in Gunung Rara/Kalabakan region, and try to understand what could have happened to the 14 elephants that died last January.

“Moreover, in collaboration with WWF-Malaysia, we plan to fit satellite collars on 20 to 30 elephants from several herds in central Sabah. We will then monitor their movements and ranging patterns in order to identify the best areas for conservation and propose the establishment of elephant corridors,” added Goossens.

“So far, from February 25 to March 15, Dara has been traveling within Gunung Rara Forest Reserve. Blood samples were sent to Thailand and Australia for analysis,” concluded Goossens.

Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, director of Sabah Wildlife Department, said the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and the Sabah Wildlife Department would not give up in its quest of identifying the cause of death of the 14 elephants that were found in Gunung Rara Forest Reserve.

Dara’s collaring was funded by grants from The Asian Elephant Foundation and Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and US Fish and Wildlife Service to DGFC.

Danau Girang Field Centre ¨C a field study centre located within the Kinabatangan – is a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department and Cardiff University.

The Sabah Wildlife Rescue Unit was established by SWD with funds from the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) and Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort.

Source: Borneo Post

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Studying Borneon jumbo's origin

Kota Kinabalu: Bornean elephants show low genetic diversity that can impact on their survival to a threatened habitat. 

This was one of the main conclusions in a recent paper published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE by a team of scientists from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci?ncia (IGC, Portugal), the Centre for Applied Genetics and Technology and Floragenex, Inc. (USA), the CNRS (France), Cardiff University (UK), Sabah Wildlife Department and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC, Sabah). 

"Studying the genetic variability of endangered species is becoming increasingly necessary for species conservation and monitoring," said Dr Lounes Chikhi from IGC and one of the lead authors of the paper. 

"Using blood samples collected from captive Bornean elephants of Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, we used cutting edge DNA (hereditary material of all living organisms) sequencing methodology to identify genetic markers for the species," he said. 

He said the Bornean elephants live in an environment where natural habitats disappear quickly due mainly to oil palm plantation development that causes populations to be isolated from each other. 

"(Thus) having access to variable genetic markers will be crucial to identify populations that are isolated and genetically impoverished, and monitor them in the future," he said. 

Co-author Dr Benoit Goossens, Director of DGFC, said these new genetic markers may also allow them to reconstruct part of the demographic history of the Bornean elephants and possibly unravel the mystery of their origin. 

"The origin of these elephants in Borneo still raises controversy and we have long wondered why the elephants' range is so restricted. 

"The only previous genetic study done on these elephants recognised their presence in Borneo for more than 300,000 years, but there is lack of elephant fossils on the island to support this," he said. 

Another interesting theory, he said, is that in the late 12th century, the Sultan of Java sent Javan elephants as a gift to the Sultan of Sulu. 

These elephants became the founders of a feral population at the western end of the island of Sulu, he said. 

Subsequently, he said, the sultan of Sulu translocated some individuals to the northeast of Borneo and these individuals may have become the founder members of the current population in Sabah. 

Meanwhile, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, said the State Government launched the 2012-2016 Elephant Action Plan in January. 

He said the Bornean elephant is genetically unique and that Sabah is blessed with a population of about 2,000 individuals that need to be protected. 

"Large areas of lowland forest are paramount for the survival of this pachyderm. 

"Land conversion to oil palm plantations in key areas such as the Kinabatangan floodplain and central Sabah should stop if we want to avoid isolation of herds and maintain a healthy population," he said. 

Source: Daily Express

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