10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no.4

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no.4 - Sumatran elephant

Hello everyone,

This is the 4th post in our '10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about'. Today we are going to be talking about Sumatran elephants. You've probably all heard about Sumatran tigers, which are also on the edge of extinction, but Sumatran elephants are much less well-known.

Characteristics

Sumatran elephants live for around 70 years and grow 2 - 3.2m tall. They weigh 2 000 to 4 000 kg and are the smallest subspecies of Asian Elephant. The males have tusks, however, these don't grow as long as their African counterparts. The females also have tusks but these are normally so small, that they are hidden under the upper lip. Sumatran elephants are herbivores, eating bark, bananas, young fresh leaves and occasionally various wild herbs.

Social lives

Elephants are very social and live in herds of 20 - 35 individuals. These herds are led by a dominant female. Males leave when reach adolescence, either willingly or forcefully. Adult males are solitary, while adult females will stay in the herd. Elephants will breed at any time of the year but the peak season is during the rainy season. Pregnancy will last 19 - 21 months, that's more than double that of humans! This means that one female can only give birth once in 4 years, meaning that the population takes a long time to grow. A newborn calf will weigh less than 90 kg!

Population & Habitat

Sumatran elephants only live on Sumatra Island (in Indonesia). They live in forests and have a current population of 2 400 to 2 800 individuals. Their population is fragmented over different areas of the island and decreasing. In just the last 25 years, half of the population has been lost and they now only live in 69% of their original habitat. And over the last three generations (about 75 years) they have had an 80% population decline.

Human interference

Deforestation is the main reason for habitat loss. As farmland and human settlements expand into elephant territory, conflicts between farmers and elephants become more common. Most of these conflicts leave the elephants dead. They are also hunted for ivory, which has a very high commercial value. Due to all of these factors, in 2011 the IUCN changed their endangered status from endangered to critically endangered.

Next year, we will be discontinuing the Top Tips series. It has been a cool series to write but now it's time for something new. Here's the vote so that you can decide what we do next year!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:

https://animalia.bio/sumatran-elephant
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_elephant
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/199856/9129626

Image:

This image, owned by Nonprofit Organizations (on flickr.com) is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Comments

Ecotourism: what it is, the advantages and the disadvantages

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the idea of ecotourism, including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. If you are looking to reduce your environmental and social impact when travelling, then this is the post for you! Ecotourism is a form of tourism which limits the damage to the environment and local community. It can involve helping in community projects such as planting trees, as well as taking part in local customs and festivals. It helps to keep the local culture alive, while preserving the natural environment. The advantages are abundant. By helping in a project conserving the environment, tourists gain a new understanding and appreciation for the natural world and may be inspired to make changes in their "real" life to live more sustainably. It provides a valuable insight to a country and community, perhaps also inspiring more respect for different people and the lives they lead. The projects also provide sustainable income sources for locals, h...

The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg | review & thoughts

Hi Everyone! You may be aware that Wednesday was International Women's Day, so today I wanted to share a book review for a book written by one of the most inspiring women of our generation: Greta Thunberg. She is, of course, the legendary creator of the Fridays For Future movement and has inspired thousands of children to skip school on Fridays to protest for the climate. She recently compiled a book, simply entitled: The Climate Book. Here are my thoughts. This is a compilation of articles and essays from the best climate scientists, activists and high-profile people, which makes up, in my opinion, the climate bible . It quite literally encompasses everything you may want to know about the climate crisis, from the science, to how it affects us, what we've done and have yet to do, and so much more. This book is everything. I have not yet read the whole thing, because let me tell you, this book is HUGE. It's also of course very den...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

The life of ... a koala

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about koalas. Also known as koala bears, koalas are marsupials. So they're actually not bears. Koalas, phascolarctos cinereus , are tree dwelling and probably best known for spending most of the day sleeping. They live for up to 15 years in the wild although captive koalas generally live for longer. Koalas have a stout, gray body and a cream-coloured chest. They have a broad face, small yellow eyes and big fluffy ears. In adaptation to climbing, their feet are strong and clawed. Adult individuals in South Australia weigh 14kg and are 60-84cm big. Their Eastern cousins are considerably smaller. Koalas are found in Eastern and Southern Australia, where they live in eucalyptus trees. They feed on the leaves of these eucalyptus trees, eating up to 1.3kg a day. With a body weight of up to 14kg, this means they eat just under 10% of their body weight every single day. However, the le...

04.10.2020 Animal of The Week: Orca

Hello everyone. This week's animal of the week is Orca. They are also known as killer whales. Habitat Orcas live all over the world. They migrate according to where their prey are. However they are more common in colder waters. Diet Orcas are at the top of the food chain and have very diverse diets, eating mainly fish but also penguins, and marine mammals such as seals, and even other whales. They hunt (and live) in groups, making them very dangerous to certain species. Dangers There are a few dangers that they face, although for now the population doesn't seem to be suffereing. Some of these are: -Hunting for entertainment as they are intelligent creatures and so appeal to people who want to test their skills. -Polluted waters can be a threat as when certain chemicals get into the orca, most likely from their prey, they can be lethal. These can get into the water by oil leaks and chemical leeches. -Prey as overfish...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

Discussion || Should Everyone Switch To Electric Cars?

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show...

August Top Tips - electronics

Happy August! For the Top Tips this August we will cover one really obvious waste product that we have totally disregarded so far: electronics. Electronic devices (Phones, computers, TVs, printers etc.) not only use up electricity but also create so much waste, especially considering how many people own them and what amount of them. Many people for example own more than one phone or regularly get new ones. That itself is a waste, however, they do need fixing and extra products such as cables and headphones as well. Some companies design their products to fail after a certain amount of time so the consumers have to get new ones… With all of that comes a lot of waste, and here are tips on how to avoid some of it! 1) Use your product as long as possible. If you use each product for longer, then you won't have to keep buying new ones. This saves money and resources. Many people like to get themselves the newest device as soon as possible to get ...

Green World

Search This Blog