World's smallest elephant in danger of dying out

The world's smallest elephant, known as the Bornean elephant, is facing the threat of extinction. With only about 1,000 individuals left in the wild, these gentle and playful creatures are in dire need of conservation efforts. The Bornean elephant, which is three feet smaller than its mainland Asian cousins, is found exclusively on the island of Borneo. The primary reason for their dwindling numbers is habitat loss due to deforestation. The IUCN, an organization that compiles the 'red list' of threatened species, has highlighted the plight of the Bornean elephant. Benoit Goossens, a wildlife biologist at Cardiff University and director of the Danau Girang Field Centre in Sabah, believes that there is still hope for these elephants. He emphasizes that many organizations in Sabah, including the government, are working tirelessly to conserve the Bornean elephant. The inclusion of the Bornean elephant on the red list can help raise awareness and garner support for their conservation. The Bornean elephants have been isolated on the island for hundreds or even thousands of years, leading to their evolution into a distinct population. The main threat to their survival is massive deforestation, which destroys their habitat and brings them into conflict with humans. Currently, only an estimated 1,000 Bornean elephants remain in the wild, primarily in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Professor Adrian Lister from London's Natural History Museum points out that the Bornean elephant is unique in many ways, from its baby face to its small size. He hopes that the red list designation will galvanize conservation efforts to protect their habitat. The palm oil industry in Malaysia and Indonesia has led to vast deforestation, resulting in the loss of wildlife and increased human-wildlife conflict. The elephants are often forced into human areas in search of food, where they may damage crops and face retribution killings. Other dangers include hunting for ivory and accidental poisoning from agricultural chemicals. The Asian elephant, the largest land mammal on the Asian continent, inhabits 13 countries across South and Southeast Asia. The Bornean elephant has now been assessed on the IUCN Red List as a separate subspecies of the Asian elephant. Mike Hoffmann, ZSL's Head of Wildlife Recovery, notes that habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict continue to pose significant threats to both wildlife and the communities living alongside them. The latest update to the extinction red list highlights other alarming declines across the globe. The IUCN has assessed more than 163,000 species, with 45,000 of them threatened with extinction. In Spain, reptiles on the Gran Canaria and Ibiza islands are facing severe threats due to the introduction of non-native snakes. The Gran Canaria giant lizard is now critically endangered, and the Gran Canaria skink is endangered due to predation by the California kingsnake, which was introduced to the island in 1998. In Chile, the illegal trade of ornamental cacti is a growing concern. The popularity of copiapoa cacti in Europe and Asia has led to an increase in illegal trade, facilitated by social media. Climate change further exacerbates the threat to these plants, as they struggle to adapt to rising temperatures.