Borneo Pygmy Elephant

"Malaysia's Mysterious Endangered Mammal"

One of science's newer finds, the Borneo pygmy elephant was recently found to be different than other Asian elephants.

Science is all about discovery. And sometimes it happens in the lab, not the rainforest.

By comparing genetic information of all elephants in Asia, scientists realized that the animals is Borneo were a distinct, separate population.

Others believed that these elephants were imported to Borneo from wild populations from Java, Sumatra, India or Peninsular Malaysia.

In Asia, the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the only elephant species. However, there are also four sub-species with unique characters:

• Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) - The most numerous sub-species with between 20,000 to 25,000 individuals, this jungle and grassland mammal spreads from India, across Indochina and south to Peninsular Malaysia.
• Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis) - Limited to Sumatra, where elephant habitat has shrunk drastically due to plantations and settlements, less than three thousand animals remain with poaching and poisoning problems contributing to the sub-species decline.
• Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maxumus) - The largest of the sub-species, possibly 3000 individuals survive from over 10,000 elephants a century ago. Living in dry forests and subject to poaching, killing for crop protection, drought deaths and starvation.
• Borneo pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) - Discovered recently by DNA comparisons, this smaller forest elephant is considered a separate wild population found only in Borneo, where less than two thousand endangered animals remain.

For more information on biology, behavior and conservation go to elephant facts or find out how you can help stop the ivory trade.

See elephants grazing next to the Kinabatangan River in Sabah

Borneo Pygmy Elephant: A Scientific Riddle Solved?

Sorting out species and sub-species is hard work.

Researchers have to compare physical traits and DNA samples; study history and pull out facts from fiction; conduct field research to find fossil evidence and propose theories based on the compiled data.

The case of the pygmy elephant is a good example of the process. First, the Borneo elephant is smaller than all the other Asian elephants and somewhat tame in comparison. It also has a very small range within the expansive island of Borneo.
Did pygmy elephants come from India?
Photo: Amir Jacobi

These clues support the idea that these elephants were imported as gifts to the Sultan of Sulu in the 1700s or part of a thriving elephant trade in the 16th-18th centuries.

Adding merit to this argument, no evidence of elephant bones have been unearthed, except for a fossilized tooth found in a cave.

Why does it matter where these elephants orginated?

If Borneo elephants first came from larger groups of elephants outside, then their survival is not as critical to the gene pool. But if there are a distinct group, then saving the sub-species becomes very important to preserve the genetic variety.

In 2003, researchers rejected the idea that elephants were imported into Borneo. DNA evidence showed a genetic divergence from over 18,000 years ago, when land bridges connected the island to other areas before becoming isolated later on.

The real implications of the riddle pertain to conservation. As a new sub-species, the pygmy elephant rises in importance for immediate protection as an endangered animal.

Borneo Pygmy Elephant: Conservation and Survival

Concentrated in northeastern Borneo, mostly along the tributaries and floodplain of the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, satellite tracking revealed a dramatic decline in wild elephants.

According to WWF Malaysia, the population is closer to 1,000 than earlier estimates of 1,600 of these jungle animals.
Less than 1,000 left in the wild?
Photo: PLoS Biology Creative Commons

Large rainforest mammals need lots of habitat to feed and find mates for breeding.

Encroachment of settlements, plantations and deforestation all contribute to habitat fragmentation and help increase human-wildlife conflicts (e.g. feeding on crops; trampling immature plants).

For elephants, the loss of forests creates a major dilemma. Breaking up traditional pathways to feeding grounds and gathering areas reduces contact among different elephant family groups. Without access to a larger population, genetic diversity decreases and inbreeding problems increase.

Elephants prefer forests in flat lowlands and river valleys; the same areas favored by logging and plantation companies.

working with local forestry and wildlife agencies, conservation groups focused on setting up the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary and the Heart of Borneo project to protect elephant habitats and remaining wild populations.

Discovering the existence of the pygmy elephant is a great scientific surprise. Now it's up to us to ensure that humans don't continue the demise of this marvelous forest mammal.



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