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Borneo elephant
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Borneo elephant
The Borneo elephant, also called the Bornean elephant or the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A definitive subspecific classification as Elephas maximus borneensis awaits a detailed range-wide morphometric and genetic study. In 2024, the Borneo elephant was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. It is preeminently threatened by loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat.
The Sultan of Sulu was thought to have introduced captive elephants to Borneo in the 18th century, which were released into the jungle. Comparison of the Borneo elephant population to putative source populations in DNA analysis indicates that the Borneo elephants are more likely to have derived from Sundaic stock and are indigenous to Borneo, rather than having been introduced by humans. The genetic divergence of Borneo elephants warrants their recognition as a separate evolutionarily significant unit.
In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level.
It has become commonplace to refer to the Borneo elephant as a 'pygmy' subspecies, although adult elephants of Sabah of both genders are similar in height to their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia. Five measurements of the skull of a fully adult female elephant from Gomantong Forest Reserve were slightly smaller (72–90%) than comparable dimensions averaged for two Sumatran skulls. Few available measurements show that they are of similar size to other populations of the Sunda subregion.
Morphological measurements of fifteen captive elephants from Peninsular Malaysia and of six elephants from Sabah were taken between April 2005 and January 2006, and repeated three times for each elephant and averaged. There was no significant difference in any of the characters between the two captive populations.
They are also remarkably tame and passive, another reason some scientists think they descended from a domestic collection.
Elephants are confined to the northern and northeastern parts of Borneo. In the 1980s, there were two distinct populations: One lived in Sabah, ranging over the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and adjacent mostly logged dipterocarp forest on steep terrain; the other inhabited the hilly interior at about 300 to 1,500 m (980 to 4,920 ft) altitude in dipterocarp forest, which was largely undisturbed at the time and only logged at its periphery. In Kalimantan, their range is restricted to a small contiguous area of the upper Sembakung River in the east.
The range of wild elephants in Sabah and Kalimantan seems to have expanded very little in the past 100 years despite access to suitable habitat elsewhere on Borneo. Borneo's soil tends to be young, leached, and infertile, and there is speculation that the distribution of wild elephants on the island may be limited by the occurrence of natural mineral sources.
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Borneo elephant
The Borneo elephant, also called the Bornean elephant or the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A definitive subspecific classification as Elephas maximus borneensis awaits a detailed range-wide morphometric and genetic study. In 2024, the Borneo elephant was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. It is preeminently threatened by loss, degradation and fragmentation of habitat.
The Sultan of Sulu was thought to have introduced captive elephants to Borneo in the 18th century, which were released into the jungle. Comparison of the Borneo elephant population to putative source populations in DNA analysis indicates that the Borneo elephants are more likely to have derived from Sundaic stock and are indigenous to Borneo, rather than having been introduced by humans. The genetic divergence of Borneo elephants warrants their recognition as a separate evolutionarily significant unit.
In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is convex or level.
It has become commonplace to refer to the Borneo elephant as a 'pygmy' subspecies, although adult elephants of Sabah of both genders are similar in height to their counterparts in Peninsular Malaysia. Five measurements of the skull of a fully adult female elephant from Gomantong Forest Reserve were slightly smaller (72–90%) than comparable dimensions averaged for two Sumatran skulls. Few available measurements show that they are of similar size to other populations of the Sunda subregion.
Morphological measurements of fifteen captive elephants from Peninsular Malaysia and of six elephants from Sabah were taken between April 2005 and January 2006, and repeated three times for each elephant and averaged. There was no significant difference in any of the characters between the two captive populations.
They are also remarkably tame and passive, another reason some scientists think they descended from a domestic collection.
Elephants are confined to the northern and northeastern parts of Borneo. In the 1980s, there were two distinct populations: One lived in Sabah, ranging over the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and adjacent mostly logged dipterocarp forest on steep terrain; the other inhabited the hilly interior at about 300 to 1,500 m (980 to 4,920 ft) altitude in dipterocarp forest, which was largely undisturbed at the time and only logged at its periphery. In Kalimantan, their range is restricted to a small contiguous area of the upper Sembakung River in the east.
The range of wild elephants in Sabah and Kalimantan seems to have expanded very little in the past 100 years despite access to suitable habitat elsewhere on Borneo. Borneo's soil tends to be young, leached, and infertile, and there is speculation that the distribution of wild elephants on the island may be limited by the occurrence of natural mineral sources.
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