Sumatran elephant "closer to extinction"

Sumatran elephant "closer to extinction"

There's been a warning that the Sumatran elephant could be extinct in the wild within thirty years unless immediate steps are taken to protect its habitat.

The warning comes from the environmental group WWF, which says the elephants' numbers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra have halved since 1985 (down to about two-and-a-half thousand).

Their decline is attributed mostly to deforestation. Large areas of Sumatran forest have been cleared or converted for timber, palm-oil and paper plantations.

Gajah Sumatra, "kepunahan semakin dekat"

Muncul peringatan bahwa gajah Sumatera di hutan belantara bisa punah dalam waktu 30 tahun kecuali bila diambil langkah-langkah segera untuk melindungi habitat binatang itu.

Peringatan dikeluarkan oleh organisasi lingkungan WWF yang mengatakan jumlah populasi gajah di Pulau Sumatra berkurang separuh sejak 1985 (turun menjadi sekitar 2.500 ekor).

Penurunan ini disebabkan utamanya oleh penggundulan hutan. Banyak kawasan hutan di Sumatra telah dibabat atau dikonversi menjadi perkebunan kayu, kelapa sawit dan kertas.