PEKANBARU - Acting Head of the Riau KSDA Center, Fifin Arfiana said that the two Sumatran elephants (Elephas maximus sumatranus) who were separated from their group, on Monday (23/5), have now been transferred from Indragiri Hulu Regency to Jambi Province.
The two male elephants when they were transferred were in Teluk Sungkai Village, Kuala Cenaku District, Indragiri Hulu Regency, and these two protected animals have been in that location since February 2022.
"Together with the Riau KSDA Center, the Indragiri Hulu Regional Government, the TNI, Polri, the Indragiri Hulu Regency BPBD and the community, they actively carried out mitigation and monitoring and security for 3 months," said Fifin, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, May 24.
He said, prior to the transfer of the Sumatran elephant, the Riau KSDA Center at the direction of the Directorate of Species and Genetic Biodiversity Conservation (KKHSG), the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had conducted DNA testing efforts at Sriwijaya University.
As a result, the diversity of haplotypes and nucleotides is quite low, validated by 3 (three) common Sumatran elephant haplotypes on Sumatra Island (BS, BR, and BT), dominant haplotypes BR and BT.
"Transfer can be done from individual Sumatran elephants with different populations and is an effort to create gene flow, reproductive health, maintain genetic quality, and overcome mutations," he said.
The transfer was carried out to a pouch location outside Riau Province where the results of the study on elephant pouches were female-dominated sex ratio and low genetic diversity, so it is hoped that the arrival of two male elephants from Riau Province can encourage improvements in genetic diversity.
The two Sumatran elephants separated in 2021 and were once returned to their group in the Southeast Tesso Elephant enclave. But these two elephants came back out of their pockets to Kuala Cenaku sub-district in Indragiri Hulu district.
The location of the two Sumatran elephants is mostly a swamp area, so that in carrying out mitigation efforts it is difficult.
"In the process of relocating, the Riau KSDA Great Hall brought in three tame elephants, namely Yopi, Indah and Sengarun. The journey to the relocation destination took a relatively long time so in anticipating disturbances the Riau KSDA Great Hall sent 4 veterinarians from the KSDA Great Hall Riau and the Directorate of KKHSG, Ministry of LHK," he said.
Before being released, one of the two elephants will be installed with a GPS Collar to monitor the elephant's movement to make mitigation easier. The resulting GPS Collar data will be used as information material as well as material for consideration in taking further policies.
The Sumatran elephant is one of the species protected by law based on Law no. 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and Their Ecosystems.
In 2011, IUCN determined the conservation status of the Sumatran Elephant to be in the Critically Endangered (CR) category. This means that this animal is on the verge of extinction. The CR status is only two levels from extinct in the wild and completely extinct.
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