Jakarta Globe, Agence France-Presse, April 17, 2013
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A baby
Sumatran elephant peeps out timidly from between the legs of its mother at an
Indonesian zoo, where its birth has given a boost to the critically endangered
animal.
Kartini,
named after the country’s most celebrated feminist, Raden Ajeng Kartini, was
born on Friday under a captive breeding program and is in good health.
“Her birth
is the result of conservation efforts at the zoo, and we’re all happy to
welcome her,” Taman Safari zoo spokesman Yulius Suprihardo told AFP.
The zoo
said that she seemed happy, and was feeding from her mother every 30 minutes.
The 105
kilogram elephant was born just south of the capital Jakarta in Cisarua, Bogor,
but the animal is native to Sumatra island, where its population has halved in
one generation, according to environmental group WWF.
There are
fewer than 3,000 Sumatran elephants remaining in the wild, according to the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Rampant
expansion of palm oil, paper plantations, and mines, has destroyed nearly 70
percent of the Sumatran elephant’s forest habitat over 25 years, the WWF says,
and the animals remain a target of poaching.
Three of
the elephants were found dead in Riau province in November last year, with
officials saying they were probably poisoned in a revenge attack by palm oil
plantation workers who suspected the animals had destroyed their huts.
Agence France-Presse
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