Improving the lot of captive elephants can help wild ones

Asian elephants are highly intelligent social animals. That, along with their formidable strength, has been their undoing. From India to Cambodia, the region’s elephants have long served as beasts of burden, employed in highly dangerous activities like logging and forced to carry tourists on their backs.

With only a few thousand pachyderms left in the wild, elephants in Asia are facing a bleak future. And so are captive elephants, warn the authors of a new study.

A team of researchers from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and the University of Turku in Finland set out to investigate how trends in elephant capture from the wild influenced the birth, death and population growth of 3,500 working elephants over 54 years, between 1960 and 2014, in Myanmar, which has the world’s largest population of wild Asian elephants.

The scientists relied on data involving birth and death rates to assess the outlook for captive elephants. Their findings indicate, not surprisingly, that in order to ensure the population growth of captive elephants, juvenile elephants must be better protected. “Importantly, wild-caught females had reduced birth rates and a higher mortality risk,” they observe in their paper.

“However, despite the disadvantages of wild-capture, the population may not be sustainable without it, with immediate declines owing to an unstable age-structure that may last for 50 years,” they add. “Our results highlight the need to assess the long-term demographic consequences of wild-capture to ensure the sustainability of captive and wild populations as species are increasingly managed and conserved in altered or novel environments.”

A key is to ensure better welfare standards for captive elephants, especially females and their calves, so as to reduce mortality rates and reduce the incentive for wild capture. “[A]s the elephants are separated from their mothers and trained for work around the age of four, [this] can be stressful for them,” the researchers say. Allowing captive mothers enough time and opportunity to bond with their calves is also important.

“Our model suggests we may see declines in captive elephants for up to 50 years so we must now work to ensure that the captive population is sustainable,” says John Jackson, a researcher from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences who was lead author of the paper. “With so many Asian elephants in captivity, we must safeguard both captive and wild elephant populations and the people living and working alongside them for the future of the species,” he adds.

As tourists, we can all do our best to help captive elephants in small ways. One way of doing so is saying no to elephant rides that are popular tourist attractions in countries like Myanmar and Thailand. These rides can take a heavy emotional and physical toll even on the strongest jumbos. “Many of us have the opportunity to visit captive elephants used in tourism, particularly in Southeast Asia,” Jackson says. “We all have our part to play to ensure that the welfare of captive elephants is improved and this may have a positive effect on Asian elephants globally.”

Simultaneously, conservation efforts aimed at protecting wild herds must be improved to ensure that no wild elephant is taken captive. “The dependence of captive elephant populations on capture from the wild in the past is truly alarming,” notes Prof.Virpi Lummaa, a scientist at the University of Turku. “The problem with elephants is that they take so long to grow and reproduce and have very complex social lives, making them vulnerable to population declines when disturbed.”

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Good News – Two-year-old Indali has entered a recovery phase after being struck with deadly virus

Chester Zoo has issued an update on the health of two-year-old Asian elephant calf Indali who was struck down with the deadly Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV).

Indali tested positive for EEHV during her thrice-weekly blood test in March, she has since undergone intensive daily treatments to help her fight off the virus.

A zoo spokesperson said today:

“After 14 days of treatment for the elephant herpes virus, EEHV, we now believe that two-year-old Asian elephant calf Indali has entered a recovery phase.

While this is hugely optimistic, EEHV remains a deadly virus and we are wary of the possibility that this is remission and her condition could still decline.

Our large team of vets and keepers will continue to monitor her closely.

In the last two weeks, Indali has undergone intensive daily treatments to help her fight off the virus: including nine anaesthetic procedures, innovative blood plasma transfusions, interferon therapy, anti-viral medications and immune boosting treatments.

Our priority now is to try to encourage Indali and her mum, Sundara, to get back to a more normal daily routine. She will benefit greatly from the comfort that comes with reconnecting with the rest of the close-knit family herd.

Although Indali’s condition remains delicate, as conservationists and caregivers we are eternally grateful to the incredible support from a range of partners who have helped her up to this point, not least the detailed analysis of Indali’s blood samples carried out by world leading EEHV expert Akbar Dastjerdi of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

We are also thankful to the thousands of Chester Zoo supporters who, for many years, have been donating to our Never Forget campaign, funding vital research searching for a solution to the global EEHV crisis.

Chester Zoo scientists, in partnership with The University of Surrey and APHA, will continue the search for a vaccine for EEHV, which is critical to protect both wild and zoo elephant herds globally.

Here at the zoo, we will continue to monitor Indali day-in, day-out and will provide further updates on her progress in the days and weeks ahead.”

Last October three-year-old Nandita Hi Way and 18-month-old Aayu Hi Way – two much-loved members of the zoo’s close-knit family herd of rare Asian elephants – both tested positive for the fast acting EEHV and died shortly afterwards.

EEHV is known to be present in almost all Asian elephants, both in the wild and in zoos across the globe, but only develops into an illness in some elephants.

The zoo is leading global efforts to find a vaccine for the disease, and is backed by new technology and science, developed following the tragic losses of other calves at the zoo to the complex virus.

EEHV is known to be present in almost all Asian elephants, but only develops into an illness in some animals – it is currently unknown why this is. The virus has led to deaths in eight countries across the Asian elephant’s wild range including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia (Sumatra & Borneo) and Myanmar – as well as cases recorded in zoos and sanctuaries.

The virus is now one of the biggest threats to the long-term future of Asian elephants globally. Huge progress has been made in the fight to find a cure – with new potential vaccines being trialled in the near future that could solve the crisis for the species – but right now that battle is ongoing.

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'Little fighter' Indali is responding well to treatment after she tests positive for deadly elephant virus

Asian elephant calf Indali Hi Way is responding well to treatment.

The two-year-old callf continues to undergo intensive treatment after testing positive for EEHV during her regular blood tests.

In its latest update, Chester Zoo said Indali, who spent the night side by side with mum Sundara as she normally would, has responded well to treatments so far.

Elephant experts, vets and scientists are all caring for her very closely - in the zoo’s Elephants of the Asian Forest habitat - and remain hopeful that she can pull through after the virus was detected much earlier than ever before.

Indali is proving to be a real little fighter and the zoo’s team will continue to do absolutely everything possible to give her the very best chance of overcoming this devastating disease.

The virus was picked up during her thrice weekly blood test.

The zoo’s baby elephants Nandita and Aayu tragically died in October after EEHV - but with a specialist team at Chester Zoo working round the clock to treat Indali, zoo bosses are hopeful she will respond to treatment.

Indali has shown no outward signs of illness or symptoms, indicating that the test result from the zoo’s new on-site research facility has detected the virus at the earliest possible moment.

EEHV is a virus which usually proves deadly, both in zoos and the wild, but no calf has ever had a better chance of surviving this virus than Indali does right now.

Elephant experts, conservationists, scientists and veterinary teams at the zoo are working tirelessly to provide Indali with the very latest treatments available, including new state-of-the-art blood plasma transfusions, anti-viral medications and immune boosting treatments similar to that received by humans during cancer care. The teams are monitoring the calf around the clock.

The zoo is leading global efforts to find a vaccine for the disease, and is backed by new technology and science, developed following the tragic losses of other calves at the zoo to the complex virus.

EEHV is known to be present in almost all Asian elephants, but only develops into an illness in some animals – it is currently unknown why this is. The virus has led to deaths in eight countries across the Asian elephant’s wild range including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia (Sumatra & Borneo) and Myanmar – as well as cases recorded in zoos and sanctuaries.

The virus is now one of the biggest threats to the long-term future of Asian elephants globally. Huge progress has been made in the fight to find a cure – with new potential vaccines being trialled in the near future that could solve the crisis for the species - but right now that battle is ongoing.

Mike Jordan, Collections Director at the zoo, said: "Our teams will continue to work around the clock to give Indali every possible chance of pulling through from this awful virus using the very latest, innovative treatments we’ve developed.

"We were able to detect the virus at the earliest possible moment in our on-site science centre, where we analyse blood samples from the elephants and are able to pick up the virus as soon as it becomes active in the bloodstream.

"Although it was such early stages and Indali looked happy in herself, we couldn’t take any risks due to the fast-acting nature of the virus and began treatment immediately; administering anti-viral drugs, as well as flushing her system with blood plasma from an elephant with a perfect blood type match.

"Whenever this deadly virus strikes, the odds are stacked against us, but we have never been more hopeful that we can win the battle against EEHV.

"This isn’t just a fight for Indali, it’s a fight for Asian elephants globally."

Chester Zoo scientists - backed by more than £220,000 of public donations, a major partnership with The University of Surrey, and an international collaboration of conservationists - are at the forefront of the major international effort, which is critical to protect both wild and zoo elephant herds globally from the virus.

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Elephant Killed for Ivory in a Wildlife Sanctuary

Over the years, poachers have been excessively harvesting the tusks of the mighty animal. In order to obtain the precious material, the hunters would have to gun down and kill the targeted elephant. Elephants are facing a decline because of the demand in ivory and the inhumane method in harvesting it.

On February 24 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a dead male elephant was found in a wildlife sanctuary in northeastern Mondulkiri province. It was reported that the tusk and tail of the creature have been removed. The cause of the elephant's death is a shot under its eye. It was found ten days after it was killed.

Records show that there are only a few hundred elephants left in Cambodia and poaching is to be blamed. Animal rescue Non-Government Organization (NGO), Mondulkiri Project, tallied about 400 elephants living in the wild and 50 in captivity.

In the same sanctuary, a baby elephant was also found during the last year. It was said to have been caught in a trap that the poachers have successfully set.

The future of elephants seems to look bleak as poaching them for animal parts has effectively lowered their numbers and the deforestation and illegal logging has shrunken the area of their habitat. Unfortunately, the situation on corruption in the country coupled with the very lax enforcement of the law is not helping the case of the wildlife.

Still, there are some actions being done. More than a thousand elephant tusks were seized by authorities last December. The haul was found hidden in a container sent from Mozambique. This raid is the largest ivory bust in the country. Another haul was found in 2016 where the ivory was hidden in hollowed-out logs owned by a company in Mozambique as well.

Ivory is the prime goal why poachers kill off elephants. These tusks are used to make billiard balls, piano keys, souvenirs, accessories, and other items. The tail is cut off because of the hair on the tip. It is believed to bring luck to whoever that possesses it. It is then embedded in bracelets and rings.

There are more animals being hunted for their body parts across the globe. The elephant for its tusk and hair is only one of them. Other popular ones are the pangolin for its scales and the rhino for its horn. The patronization of these products increase the demand, and in turn, decrease the number of wildlife.

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Poachers kill elephant in Cambodia wildlife sanctuary

An elephant has been found dead with its tusks and tail sliced off in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia, where wild elephant numbers have dwindled to just a few hundred due to poaching and deforestation.

The Southeast Asian nation has emerged in recent years as a key transit hub for the multi-billion dollar illicit wildlife trade, with demand for products made from tusks, pangolin scales and rhino horns high in China and neighbouring Vietnam.

According to the Mondulkiri Project, an animal rescue NGO, there are about 400 elephants in the wild in Cambodia, and about 50 held in captivity.

The body of the male Asian elephant was found on Sunday in a wildlife sanctuary in northeastern Mondulkiri province, said Environment Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra.

"The elephant's tusks were missing and its tail was also cut off," he told AFP on Monday, adding the animal was killed about 10 days ago.

"There was a wound from a gunshot under its right eye," Neth Pheaktra said, adding authorities are still hunting for the poachers.

A baby elephant was found dead last year in the same sanctuary when it was caught in a trap set by poachers, he said.

The Asian elephant is hunted for its precious tusks, while its tail hair is considered lucky and embedded in rings and bracelets.

The demand for the animal parts threatens Cambodia's dwindling elephant population found in the northeast and southwest forests, where illegal logging and deforestation is reducing their habitat.

Cambodia's high levels of corruption and lax law enforcement make the country an easy transit point for traffickers facing a crackdown in neighbouring Thailand.

In December, Cambodian authorities seized more than one thousand elephant tusks hidden in a storage container sent from Mozambique, the country's largest ever ivory bust.

Another significant haul occurred in 2016 when authorities discovered nearly a tonne of ivory hidden in hollowed-out logs inside an abandoned container -- also owned by a company based in Mozambique.

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Dead Elephant Found in Mondulkiri

Mondulkiri: According to preliminary reports, a dead elephant was found in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Sre Loi village, Sre Khtom commune, Keo district. Mondulkiri Seima.

The report said that the elephant had been spotted on the morning of February 24, 2019, and had been dead for about 10 days. It is a female elephant with a height of 2.7 meters and 4.5 meters long.

According to Din Bunthoeun, deputy director of the Department of Environment of Mondulkiri province, the experts of the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary are researching on the causes.

The owner of the cashew plantation where the elephant was found claims that his crops have been lost as the animals raid the land. Elephants are often accused of eating cashew nuts during the harvest season.

According to a report from the Department of Environment of Mondulkiri in the wildlife sanctuary, there are over 200 elephants in the province, Experts continue to monitor the numbers to decide whether to increase or decrease their presence in the wild. From Kohsantepheap

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Elephant Kavaan in Islamabad zoo to be released upon condition

KARACHI: Kaavan, the lone elephant at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, will be released into an animal sanctuary.

The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has decided to let go of Kaavan, given an international charity organisation they are in touch with helps with the development of the zoo, according to DAWN.

According to the Chief Metropolitan Officer Syed Najaf Iqbal, the zoo is currently looking into the offer and pushing the international charity organisation to be clear on the zoo upgradation plan. “In principle we have decided to release Kaavan,” he said, DAWN reported.

Who is Kaavan?

According to One Green planet, a website focusing on environmental stories, Pakistan took in Kaavan from Sri Lanka in 1985 when he was one year old. He was separated from his herd and since then he’s been kept in Islamabad zoo in chains. His plight came into attention in 2012 when his only partner Saheli passed away due to intense neglect. Kaavan has been subjected to the zoo’s apathy, forced to live alone in a small, enclosed space.

Read: Lahore zoo to auction surplus lion, tiger cubs

A lot of concerns have been raised locally when it was learnt that the animal has been living in solitary confinement and dirty environment for the entertainment of visitors. International animal rights campaigners led by Animal Welfare Worldwide took it upon themselves to convince the zoo and to let him go to a sanctuary.

Breakthroughs for #FreeKaavan

In November 2018, it was reported by local news outlets that Kaavan may after all get his freedom. According to SAMAA Digital, the director of Islamabad zoo had said that if his medical examination showed he is suffering from medical illness, he would be released and if he was found alright, he would stay in the zoo. If freed, he would be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

The international charity organisation had met with the government in November and offered to improve the condition of the zoo as well.

Support for Kaavan has been pouring in from around the world even before the news broke.

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