The decreasing population of the Asian Elephant due to habitat loss and poaching. Essay

The diminishing population of the Asian Elephant due to habitat loss and poaching.

Description of job:

The Asiatic elephant is one of the most commonly idea of endangered animate beings frequently seen in advertizements by animate being rights bureaus such as the WWF ( 1 ) with many people donating to undertakings to assist with their preservation. Despite the message making people via these administrations the population still seems to be dropping. It seems many people particularly in other states feel it is non their job to supply aid to continue these animate beings and they frequently believe their loss would non hold a direct consequence on their ain lives even though the loss of this species would straight impact people across the universe.

Asiatic elephants particularly contribute mostly to the touristry industry with people coming from many different locations across the universe sing these states to see them foremost manus so if the species goes wholly nonextant there will be a monolithic loss to the economic system of many states within Asia. This in bend will impact the economic system of other states such as the UK as there will be a lessening in the figure of people booking vacations to Asia significance air hoses, travel agents etc. will besides lose out on of import income. ( 2 )

“I think the extinction of the mammoth is a good lesson that applies to modern extinctions”

Professor Adrian Lister

Natural History Museum ( 3 )

The population of the Asian elephant is said to hold decreased by 50 % over the last 60 old ages so now the Numberss are said to now be at an all-time depression of 25,600 and 32,750 ( 4 ) and is still said to be diminishing with them now being said to be more endangered than the African elephant.

Methods of probe:

The population lessening can mostly be attributed to habitat loss and illegal poaching taking topographic point in big sums across Asia. About 20 % ( 5 ) of the human population live near a home ground where Asiatic elephants are populating and as the human population increases more topographic points to populate and stuffs in general will be needed and many of these are found in Asiatic elephant home grounds. An illustration of this is woods being logged to supply lumber for furniture and building and in their topographic point people are constructing and turning harvests on the land. This in bend pushes the Asiatic elephants to hold to travel into smaller countries which are free from human intercession but with the population denseness going greater there is non adequatefresh fish to back up the animate beings which in bend leads to the weaker animate beings to fight for nutrient and reproduction rates can besides be affected significance that for all the elephants that are deceasing there are non plenty being born to replace them. The deforestation besides leads to some elephants being poisoned by chemicals being used on the land and other herds being separated into smaller groups which are unviable as this can take to inbreeding ( 6 ) and over long periods of clip there will non be adequate familial diverseness to prolong the population.

Figures show that in Indonesia entirely there has been a loss of 60,000 sq kilometer of wood over a period of 12 old ages. The higher the loss of woods the more Asiatic elephants ( 7 ) are lost with many militants worrying that if the deforestation is non slowed down many of the world’s mammal species including the Asiatic elephants could non last. In 2012 Indonesia lost 8,400 sq kilometer of forest which in bend led to them catching Brazil who antecedently had one of the highest deforestation rates in the universe but merely lost 4,600 sq kilometer ( 8 ) . In China on the other manus there are merely 2 % of its woods still integral with a really limited sum of it protected so the staying woods are still in danger of devastation from deforestation be it for stuffs such as paper or the countries being urbanized. The hazard to the biodiversity of Asia is high as these woods are the lone place for many of these animate beings.

Illegal poaching is going an increasing issue in Asia with elephants either being killed in revenge for destructing harvests or for their tusk. In India it has been established that there may merely be around 1200 genteelness males left alive ( 10 ) ; due to the males being the lone 1s with ivories they are slaughtered much more often and with such a high figure of females to males engendering rates are low and people are seeing the elephants even less often.

Solution to the job:

Many people across the universe recognise the hazard to the elephants but for them to be saved and the population replenished some feasible solutions need to be proposed.

One manner to decide this issue would be confined genteelness ( in situ ) of the elephants. Removing the elephants from their natural home ground and taking them to zoos to engender as this may be one of the most effectual ways to acquire the population back up in Numberss to what it one time was. The menagerie that take portion in this must be specially equipped to cover with the big animate beings and it is of import that they know how to engender compatible elephants, if the elephants chosen for the plan are non compatible this could take to a farther loss of familial fluctuation or to an unsuccessful gestation. This method has already proven to be successful with the Saint Lois zoo successfully fiting Asiatic elephants ( 13 ) and leting them to engender, to make this they used Species Survival Plans which determine the familial information of each elephant and do the information available so compatible lucifers can be found. This technique can be used across the universe with possibly more local menagerie in Asia being able to utilize the same method to engender farther.

Effectiveness of solution:

“ Captivity does non equal preservation. Research shows elephant confined genteelness plans fail, and in the rare event a menagerie elephant produces a calf, it can non be released back into the wild. . . The best manner for these menageries … to help with the future preservation of this species, is to back up field preservation plans in Asia. ”

-Vivek Menon, Wildlife Trust of India, Agence France Press, Dec. 2, 2004 ( 14 )

A major issue with the confined genteelness of Asiatic elephants is the fact that it has proven to, more frequently than non, to be unsuccessful. Many zoos instead than desiring to assist continue the elephant population participate alternatively to propagate them for the menagerie intending the menagerie cares more about doing a net income than the success of the plan.

Although in some topographic points the plan has been successful the immature elephants are so raised in the menagerie environment intending they can non be introduced into the wild as they would fight to last so even though this may assist increase the population it will merely be conveying more elephants into imprisonment.

Deductions:

There are ethical deduction for maintaining Asiatic elephants in imprisonment in that in the wild elephants have broad scopes to roll whereas in zoos their indoor environment is a mere 20 pess by 20 pess in country and their out-of-door country does non stretch much more than 40 pess by 45 pess ( 16 ) . This deficiency of infinite has been proven to do pes and joint diseases, generative jobs, high baby mortality rates, and psychological hurt which in bend can take to the premature deceases of many of the elephants ( 17 )

Besides as many of the genteelness plans take topographic point in the US the elephants chosen for the plans have to be transported over from Asia which is besides a distressing journey for the animate beings. Although the elephants frequently have specially made crates for their weight and size they are in an enclosed infinite for extended periods of clip to do the 13516 kilometer journey, even though the journey is seen as necessary it is still really unethical to maintain an elephant in an enclosed unfamiliar environment.

There are besides economic deductions of the confined genteelness with the costs of following the genteelness plans being highly high. To transport the elephants to where the genteelness will take topographic point which is frequently a long journey necessitating specialist equipment is frequently dearly-won ( 18 ) and one time the elephants reach their location they need specialist infinites, nutrient and a medical attention for the genteelness to take topographic point which besides needs a batch of support. The money for these undertakings can non merely come from charities as there is non plenty, any menagerie transporting out the plan needs to be specially funded and with limited support from the authorities this money is difficult to obtain ( 19 ) .

Advantages of solution:

The Asian elephant draws a batch of tourers to different countries of Asia therefore hiking the economic system and conveying consciousness of the continent to different countries of the universe possibly doing people want to see or even set up concern at that place. The preservation besides brings consciousness about the elephants themselves ; leting people to larn more about them, allows people who may non hold had the chance to see the animate beings antecedently the chance to acquire near to the animate being ( 20 ) . The more consciousness raised about the animate beings the more money possibly this will pull in from the populace to assist fund other preservation undertakings ; for illustration in situ preservation in Asia to let the elephants and indigens to populate harmoniously.

Disadvantages of solution:

There is a hazard with this solution of worlds being harmed if attention is non taken when traveling the big animate beings as they can be unpredictable in their behavior and they may see worlds as a menace when being taken into a new or enclosed environment. For illustration in India, over 100 people are killed by elephants each twelvemonth which demonstrates the danger they can present particularly in an unfamiliar environment ( 21 ) .

With the increased Numberss of elephants without adequate home grounds more could roll into the way of worlds possibly accidentally doing harm to belongings and harvests but besides if experiencing threatened they may harm worlds. Often the elephants are scrounging for nutrient as the increasing Numberss mean competition for nutrient is ferocious and many of the elephants are contending to last.

Alternate solution:

An alternate solution to this that would take to an addition in the population but decrease the figure of hazards and deductions would be to let the genteelness to happen in the wild utilizing methods such as unreal insemination. This method will intend the animate beings do non hold to see the hurt of transit and will non hold to populate in imprisonment. The sperm can be taken from a compatible genteelness male which can so be frozen to be transported to a compatible female elephant where she can so be inseminated leting fertilization to so take topographic point. This method has proven to hold a success rate of 50 % ( 22 ) turn outing it to be a much more effectual method than confined genteelness which had a really low success rate.

This success of this method could be owed to the fact gestations have a higher opportunity of being carried out to full term as the elephant does non hold to endure the emphasis and anxiousness caused by being within an environment they are non used to. The cost to the economic system is besides reduced with the costs of transporting the big animate beings being cut out wholly. Besides as with confined engendering the animate beings can non be introduced to the natural state as being in imprisonment has non prepared them for the challenges and competition for endurance in the wild, with this method the animate beings will be born and raised in the wild one time once more increasing the cistron pool and cut downing the hazard of inbreeding.

Bibliography:

1. Home ( no day of the month ) WWF. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.wwf.org.uk/ ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( Home, no day of the month )
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( Gill, 2011 )

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7. BBC Asia ( 2014 ) ‘Indonesia sees monolithic deforestation’ , 30 June. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28084389 ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) . Citation ( BBC Asia, 2014 )
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This web site was utile as it provided a instance survey of where my proposed solution had been carried out successfully and what it takes for a menagerie to be able to transport out this kind of plan.

14. Middleton, M. and Animals, I. D. of ( no day of the month ) Aid Elephants ( IDA ) – Elephant Conservation. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.helpelephants.com/elephant_conservation.html ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( Middleton and Animals, no day of the month )
15. ‘New place for Kampuchean slayer elephant’ ( no day of the month ) . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //phys.org/news/2010-12-home-cambodian-killer-elephant.html ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( ‘New place for Kampuchean slayer elephant’ , no day of the month )
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17. ‘Elephants are deceasing out in America’s zoos’ ( 2012 ) . The Seattle Times. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/elephants-are-dying-out-in-americas-zoos/ ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) . Citation ( ‘Elephants are deceasing out in America’s zoos’ , 2012 )
18. ‘Toronto Zoo elephants arrive at California sanctuary’ ( 2013 ) . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-zoo-elephants-arrive-at-california-sanctuary-1.2127403 ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( ‘Toronto Zoo elephants arrive at California sanctuary’ , 2013 )
19. Public Benefits of AZA-Accredited Zoos and Aquariums ( 2012 ) . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.aza.org/public-benefits/ ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( Public Benefits of AZA-Accredited Zoos and Aquariums, 2012 )
20. Sukumar, R. , Eltringham, K. and Harwood ( 1993 ) The Asiatic Elephant: Ecology and Management. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.Citation ( Sukumar, Eltringham and Harwood, 1993 )

This book was peculiarly in this study as it provided valuable figures and penetration into how confined genteelness plants and the different elements required to aloow the plans to be carried out successfully.

21. Human – Elephant Conflict ( no day of the month ) . Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/human_elephant_conflict.cfm ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) . Citation ( Human – Elephant Conflict, no day of the month )
22. Thongtip, N. ( 2009 ) Successful unreal insemination in the Asiatic elephant ( Elephas maximus ) utilizing chilled and frozen-thawed seeds. BioMed Cardinal Ltd. Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.rbej.com/content/7/1/75 ( Accessed: 14 February 2015 ) .Citation ( Thongtip, 2009 )