Hamilton 1

Lindsay Hamilton

Pre AP English 10 H

Moss

5 March 2018

Save the Borneo Pygmy Elephant

On the banks of the ancient brown river, the Borneo Pygmy Elephants stomp in the mud.

They roll around, covering their thick grey skin in brown splotches, communicating from the

impulses they send into the ground. One, a young charming elephant, slowly wades into shallow

murky water. With the water conforming to his cankles and the soft riverbed engulfing his toes.

The minnows swim curiously up to this obstruction, but they quickly swim away from the

looming giant. He sucks some water in his trunk, and sprays it into the air; effectively cleaning

the newly baked dirt patches off of his body. The mist from his au-natural shower still lingers in

the atmosphere as he uses his strength to free his sinking feet out of the mud of the Kinabatangan

river, he casually makes his way back to the herd to continue playing with all his fellow pygmy

elephant friends.

The sun beats down on the marshy forest, and the humidity lays thick like a wooly winter

time blanket. Howling Proboscis Monkeys squak to each other throughout the canopy above the

river. Spotted tree frogs fill the air with their echoing chirps. Amongst the peaceful ruckus of the
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forest a call is heard, the call of an elephant in distress. The playful elephants pick their head up

and look in the direction of the sound, curious but not scared. Quick to respond, the elephants

take off without a second thought in order to help. They weave their small round bodies

throughout the dense forest and thick brush until they see what the problem is. In the middle of a

small opening, lays a glinting contraption of death--a snare. Grunting at this monstrosity

polluting their home, the elephants soon see red. Crying metal is all that could be heard as the

elephants stomp and destroy the snare into its final resting spot. The snare’s glinting sharp teeth

are now curled into a harmless, pathetic heap of steel. The Borneo Pygmy Elephants move along,

satisfied with their win against the humans in their forest.

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant is slowly diminishing as time goes on. This small elephant

roams what is left of its home in the Kinabatangan floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and

East Kalimantan. The Borneo Pygmy Elephant, “Elephas maximus borneensis” (WWF

Malaysia), is believed to be “descendants of a population of Javan elephants, brought over to

Borneo by the Sultan of Sulu” (WLT). These elephants are genetically different from the ones

they were isolated from around 300,000 years ago. Most elephants are seen as big, foreboding

creatures, but the pygmy elephant is adorable and ‘pocket-sized.’ They have adapted to survive

in their environment, becoming smaller to navigate through the dense forest and their small size

allows for little damage to be left in their wake. (WWF)

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The Borneo Pygmy Elephant looks like any other elephant, but a miniature version of

one. Their ears are too big for their bodies, and their tails often drag on the ground (WWF).They

are one of those creatures who can be described as ‘too small for their ears.’ Like any other

elephant, they have brown to dark grey skin; however, their tusks of beautiful ivory is straighter

than other elephant species. Thick, wrinkly skin protects them from the brush and sharp branches

of the forest. Signature to most elephants appearance, the trunk helps to move vegetation, pick

fruits, and it is often used as an eating utensils. These elephants are extremely strong, and they

can even knock over full grown trees if they wanted too. The Borneo Pygmy Elephants have

adorable baby-like faces, and their plump bodies make them the cutest animals on the planet

(WWF Malaysia).

Borneo Pygmy Elephants are herbivores. They eat away the palms, grasses, and wild

bananas of the marshy forest in the Kinabatangan Floodplain. Their trunk helps to tear down

branches and to pick the fruits that grow there. “These elephants can be greedy at times. They

love durian and will roll the entire fruit - spikes and all - in mud, them swallow it hole” (WWF

Malaysia). This breed of elephants can live to up to 60 years in the wild and up to 80 years in

captivity, that is equivalent to the lifespan of a human. One reason these elephants have a hard

time of escaping endangerment is because the gestation period is anywhere from nineteen to

twenty two months! That is nearly two years of being pregnant. One calf is born every four to six
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years if the conditions are favorable; this barely scratches a dent in replenishing the population.

(WWF Malaysia)

(Young Borneo Pygmy Elephant)

These tiny elephants live in a matriarchal society, and they move throughout the forest in

herds led by the sociable females. Males tend to wander throughout the forest by themselves.

The population of these gentle giants is small, with less than 1,500 left in the world (WWF

Malaysia). Due to these creature being descendents of a domesticated group, they are somewhat

less aggressive towards humans. That doesn’t mean they wonder in to settlements looking for

someone to cuddle, and they certainly would not enjoy being someone’s pet. They actually show

aggression towards man-made objects that are in their natural environment. This type of

elephants have been known to trample traps set to catch smaller animals, and they will destroy
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settlements that they feel are imposing on their home. These “elephants are able to swim very

well and they cross rivers in order to move through their home ranges.” People probably see

elephants as these big creatures who destroy everything in their paths; however, the Borneo

Pygmy Elephants are able to move with agility and grace because of its petite size. (WLT)

(Borneo Pygmy Elephant)

The name Borneo Pygmy Elephant suggest that these elephants are probably no larger

than a giant dog. Most people probably think you can walk around a city with one and no

questions would be asked. Pygmy reminds most people of mini goats, leprechauns, and fairies. It

gives off the persona of cute small things. The name might impose this thought, but these

elephants can be anywhere from 8ft to 10ft tall, which is quite large (WWF). To put it into
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perspective, the average size for walls in a house is 10ft tall; this means that this “small” elephant

could barely fit in your room.

The Kinabatangan River is one of the most popular destinations for seeing wildlife. It’s

lush landscape and diverse wildlife is a dream vacation spot for all nature lovers. “​The

Kinabatangan passes through a diverse range of habitats, including dipterocarp forest, seasonally

flooded riparian forest, oxbow lakes, nipah and mangroves” (Borneo Adventure). Borneo Pygmy

Elephants once got to roam thousands upon thousands of miles, but due to logging, its habitat has

been reduced significantly to a few acres. Elephants once tracked through all the forest and rivers

as they pleased, but now they have to come face to face with the people who took their land.

These elephants are constantly surrounded by people and their belongings that intrude on their

natural life. They have to deal with their home being taken away because they can not do

anything to stop it. (WWF Malaysia)

The floodplains are home to a vast diversity of animals and plantlife. Everywhere you

look is filled with sights of green vegetation and a new creature waiting to be discovered. Sadly,

most are on the endangered species list right next to the pygmy elephant due to habitat loss and

illegal hunting. Diversity in the habitats contribute to the diversity in the wildlife. “Hutan and the

University of Melbourne recently conducted a survey of amphibians in the area, recording a total

of 29 frog species from 5 families, among which at least 12 species are endemic to Borneo”
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(Global). In an attempt to protect all the wildlife 894 acres were purchased to help the

endangered Orangutan, Bornean Pygmy Elephant, Malayan Sun Bear, and the proboscis

monkey, in addition to 300 species of birds. That land is a small step to regaining control of the

Kinabatangan. (Global)

(Aerial Kinabatangan)

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant is at the brink of destruction because of the selfish

intentions of mankind. “The increase in global demand for palm oil has led to increased

human-elephant conflict and the elephants are now severely threatened by habitat loss as

deforestation for palm oil plantations and logging continues” (WLT). Humans are destroying

animals homes for the chance of making a profit. People are so desperate for a better life they are
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willing to kill for it. Loss of these lowland forests provide a major threat to the elephants because

they need a substantial amount of land for feeding grounds and to maintain a viable breeding

populations. These elephants are also victims of illegal poaching due to the value of their ivory

tusks, which is also causing many other species of elephants around the world to be threatened

by extinction (WWF Malaysia). Their land that they need to survive is fragmented by

“encroachment and conversion of natural forests to commercial planting.” This means that the

elephants encounter humans while they trek through their natural migration routes. People in

these areas cause injuries to the elephants because of the snares they set up to catch small game.

Many elephants are seen with scars and cuts around their legs because of these man made traps

(WWF).

(Deforestation in the Kinabatangan)

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Luckily, all hope is not lost for these elephants. Many organizations are working to save

them from their doom. They are on the brink of extinction, but they can bounce back with time

and care. Wildlife organizations are purchasing land to protect it from further destruction, and

giving the elephants a safe place to roam. The “World Land Trust has been supporting

conservation efforts in Kinabatangan since 2008, because ongoing protection of the forest is a

key conversation measure for the Bornean Elephant” (WLT). In order to stop the fire from

spreading you need to attack it at the source and protect the areas around it, and that is exactly

what these organizations are trying to do. The World Wildlife Fund was the first to study Borneo

Pygmy Elephants, and they tracked their movements in order to provide insight to which parts of

the land needed to be conserved. Documenting their natural lands helps to conserve their

ancestral grounds, so they do not need to be relocated to a protected areas. (WWF)

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant is an adorably smart creature. Due to their habitat in the

Kinabatangan Floodplain of Borneo decreasing because of deforestation, conservation groups are

working hard to conserve as much as their natural habitat as they can in order to preserve them.

A crucial factor to save these wonderful creatures is education. Studies have to be done in order

to document and protect their migration routes and breeding lands from deforestation. The

government should also work with organizations in order to guarantee that deforestation and
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hunting in these areas will be punishable to the full extent of the law. One of the hardest things to

change is the mindset of the humanity. People are controlled by the thought of money, they

would do absolutely anything to make a profit. The idea of money being crucial to humans had

been in effect for centuries. If you have money you live an easy life, even if that easy life is at

the expense of death for an innocent creature. People put money over nature. Due to the profit

made by the palm oil industry, the Borneo Pygmy Elephants are losing their lands and their lives.

People need to start taking care of the Earth and they need to see the effects of the damage they

cause. No animal should die due to the incompetence of humans.

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Works Cited

Butler, Rhett A. ​Deforestation for Palm Oil near the Kinabatangan River​, 13 Jan. 2016,

https://news.mongabay.com/2016/01/potential-crisis-in-sabahs-amazing-kinabatangan-rai

nforest/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2018

Global Wildlife Conservation. “Lower Kinabatangan Floodplains.” ​Global Wildlife

Conservation​, 2017,

www.globalwildlife.org/our-work/regions/asia/lower-kinabatangan-floodplains/.

Accessed 6 Feb. 2018

SameerPrehistorica. “Borneo Pygmy Elephant.” ​DeviantArt​, 23 Apr. 2015,

sameerprehistorica.deviantart.com/art/Borneo-Pygmy-Elephant-528088242/.

Accessed 6 Mar. 2018

Trim, Daniel. ​Young Borneo Pygmy Elephant​. 22 Oct. 2013.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/danieltrim/10457255413/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2018

World Land Trust. “Bornean Elephant.” ​Bornean Elephant World Land Trust​, World Land Trust,

www.worldlandtrust.org/education/species/bornean-pygmy-elephant. Accessed 6 Feb.

2018

World Wide Fund . “Elephant.” ​WWF​, World Wide Fund for Nature: Malaysia, 2018,

www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/species_main/elephant/. Accessed 6 Feb.

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2018

World Wildlife Fund. “Borneo Pygmy Elephant.” ​WWF​, World Wildlife Fund, 2018,

www.worldwildlife.org/species/borneo-pygmy-elephant/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2018