Elephants are among the most intelligent creatures on earth and they are able to display remarkable family bonds and social lives. When elephants bump into a familiar herd, they will rejoice with loud trumpets through gestures such as a tilt of the head or flap of the ear.
In 2005, WWF- Malaysia and Sabah Wildlife Deparment set ou on an elephant satellite tracking project to place satellite collars on adult female elephants that are at least six feet tall and weighs approximately one tonne.
Recently, our ranges John Japil and Julian Herman tracked down a magnificent female whom we named “Brumas” after the plantation where we placed a satellite collar on her. I am pleased to report that Brumas and her family were seen enjoying a salad of grass and other tasty plants in a wildlife-friendly oil palm plantation in Brumas, Tawau.
The Borneo elephant is an umbrella species that play important role in maintaining the biodiversity of the ecosystem in which they live in. These mega gardeners are excellent seed dispersers that help regenerate our forests. As their diet includes forest fruits, these seeds pass through their digestive system and are deposited far and wide, thereby helping the spread of new plants and tress which serves as food and shelter for other wildlife in the area!
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animals. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Monday, August 03, 2015
Borneo Elephants are good seed disperser
Borneo elephants includes their diet to forest fruits. The ingested seeds passed through their digestive system and are deposited far and wide, thereby helping the spread of new plants and trees which serves as food and shelter for other wildlife in the area.
These elephants, found only in Borneo, are shy and generally avoid people as much as possible. they are considered to be more gentle-natured than their Asian cousins in Peninsular Malaysia. As adults, these forest herbivores can eat up to 150 kg of vegetation per day, feeding mostly on palms, grasses and wild bananas. They also love durian and will rool the entire fruit - spikes and all - in mud, then swallow it whole !
The Borneo elephant currently falls under Schedule 1 of Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 which makes it a totally protected animal. Yet, there is still heart-breaking news of elephant deaths every year due to two primary threats which are forest conversions resulting in lost of habitat and human-elephant conflicts.
These elephants, found only in Borneo, are shy and generally avoid people as much as possible. they are considered to be more gentle-natured than their Asian cousins in Peninsular Malaysia. As adults, these forest herbivores can eat up to 150 kg of vegetation per day, feeding mostly on palms, grasses and wild bananas. They also love durian and will rool the entire fruit - spikes and all - in mud, then swallow it whole !
The Borneo elephant currently falls under Schedule 1 of Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 which makes it a totally protected animal. Yet, there is still heart-breaking news of elephant deaths every year due to two primary threats which are forest conversions resulting in lost of habitat and human-elephant conflicts.
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