Mongabay Explores Sumatra: Elephants and eternity

The Sumatran elephant is a small species of Asian elephant whose numbers are dwindling as their lowland forest habitats are converted to crops like oil palms. Experts say that Indonesia has 10 years to turn this trend around and save them from the eternity of extinction--and that doing so will have many additional benefits for human communities and wildlife. 

To explore the issues surrounding the species' conservation, we spoke with 3 guests: Leif Cocks, the founder of the International Elephant Project, Sapariah “Arie” Saturi, Mongabay-Indonesia's Senior Writer who's reported regularly on the issue; and Dr. Wishnu Sukmantoro an elephant expert at Indonesia's Bogor Agricultural University.  

Two recent articles Arie reported for Mongabay on the topic:

• As a forest in Sumatra disappears for farms and roads, so do its elephants
• On plantations and in ‘protected’ areas, Sumatran elephants keep turning up dead

Episode artwork courtesy of World Wildlife Fund's Sumatran elephant program.

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