REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDA ACEH -- A team rescued a trapped elephant calf that contracted infection from injuries in a forest area in Batu Sumbang Village, Simpang Jernih Sub-district, East Aceh District, Aceh Province, Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Office (BKSDA) stated.
"The trapped elephant calf is a female. She is about a year old," Sapto Aji Prabowo, head of the Aceh BKSDA, remarked here on Wednesday.
The calf's left front leg got wounded following contact with a metal wire mesh. "She has contracted a serious infection. Moreover, the elephant calf is suffering from dehydration. She got separated from her herd," Prabowo noted.
Following a tip-off from the local villagers, a team was deployed to rescue the trapped calf that had gone missing for two weeks. The calf was finally found after search operations, lasting two days, and evacuated to a nearby village.
The team members comprising personnel of the Langsa KSDA resort, Leuser Conservation Forum, and veterinarians, had already administered the requisite treatment to the calf. "The calf is expected to be transported to the Serbojadi Conservation Response Unit (CRU, in East Aceh) for further medical treatment. The team will also monitor the herd, which the calf had belonged to, for reuniting her with it," he revealed.
In the meantime, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently drew attention to the critical condition of eight enclaves of the Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) that may result in the species' extinction following changes in nature fuelling conflict with humans.
"Several elephant enclaves have been transformed into palm oil plantation and industrial forest, thereby sparking greater conflicts with humans," a spokesman of the WWF Riau Program Syamsidar informed Antara on June 14, 2019.
According to a survey by the leading wildlife conservation organization WWF, the elephant population in some enclaves had dwindled and could possibly result in local extinction. Syamsidar remarked that only one elephant remained in each enclave in Rokan Hilir and Batang Ulak, whereas only three elephants were alive in Mahato-Barumun, while the Balai Raja enclave was home to only five elephants.
"In Mahato, all three elephants are females. There is no possibility of reproduction, and this can lead to what we call as local extinction," he cautioned.
However, 50-60 Sumatran elephants remain in the Giam Siak Kecil enclave, while 30-38 elephants in North Tesso Nilo, and 50-60 elephants in Southeast Tesso Nilo.
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