Indonesia: First elephant hospital for critically endangered pachyderms in Sumatra

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has reached a deal with the Taman Safari Indonesia and Australia Zoo to build an elephant hospital in the Way Kambas National Park, Lampung, southern Sumatra.

The facility is designed to prevent the extinction of the Sumatran elephant, which is in danger as indicated by a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the hospital will become the first of its kind in Indonesia and the largest in Asia.

“Elephants that sustain injuries from clashes with humans can be treated here. The elephant hospital can also serve as a research centre for elephant conservation,” he said.

Zulkifli also called on local communities to work with conservation authorities to preserve the elephants’ habitat, and not “hunt them”.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has raised the status of the Sumatran elephant from “endangered” to “critically endangered” due to the species’ continuously declining population.

Some experts estimate the species could disappear within 30 years.

Taman Safari Indonesia director Tony Sumampau said the elephant hospital was built on a 5-hectare plot of land with a 10 billion rupees (US$ 1.11 million) investment. The hospital is expected to begin operations within the next two years.