Asian elephant in endangered list

Visakhapatnam: The World Elephant Day was observed at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park here on Saturday. The Day was being observed for the preservation and protection of elephants The event was organised by Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Paryavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi andVisakha Zoo lovers at elephant enclosure in the zoo park. The goal of the Day is to create awareness among people on the plight of African and Asian elephants and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.

African elephants are listed as ‘vulnerable’ and Asian elephants as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species. The Indian elephant (Elephas Maximus) is one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.

Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as endangered species by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50 per cent over the last three generations. Asian elephants are threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, said Vizag zoo curator B Vijay Kumar.

Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Cana West Pictures and Sivaporn Dardarananda, secretary-general of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was officially founded, supported and launched on August 12, 2012.

Which is now supported by over 65 wildlife organisations and many individuals in countries across the globe In 1989, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) issued an international ban on the ivory trade as a part of conservation of elephants from poaching, said Dr V Srinivas veterinary doctor of Indira Gandhi Zoological park.

J Rajewari, secretary of Paryavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi, said African and Asian elephants are similar in physiology and biologically different to interbreed. The Asian elephant is endangered with less than 40,000 remaining worldwide. Asian elephants range in 13 countries. In the past 50 years, the Asian elephant range has shrunk by over 70 per cent.

There were over a lakh elephants in Thailand at the beginning of last century. There are less than 4,000 today. One out of every three Asian elephants left in the world is a captive animal. Recent research suggests that captive elephants suffer long-term depression over the trauma of their capture and captivity, as well as drastically shortened life spans as per the reports of Thailand elephant foundation.