On Wednesday, the country’s conservation agency said a critically endangered Sumatran elephant had given birth to a new calf in Indonesia.
The Sumatran elephants are protected species, but rampant deforestation for reforestation has reduced their natural habitat and put them in conflict with humans.
The newborn was found with its 40-year-old mother Seruni, who was being closely monitored by the agency in anticipation of the birth inside a conservation forest in Riau on the island of Sumatra.
Officials expressed delight at the arrival of the baby, believed to be a week old. Its gender has not yet been determined.
“The birth of the elephant is a gift of conservation,” the agency said in a statement.
“The calf is constantly protected by its mother and two other adult elephants.”
Dozens of elephants were found d.e.ad in Sumatra last year, including an adult without tusks in Aceh, along with an ab.an.doned 11-month-old calf.
According to conservationists, most were kil.l.ed by humans.
Last month, a pregnant elephant was found d.e.ad in a palm oil plantation in Sumatra, which authorities suspect was a deliberate poisoning.
It is believed that there are about 2,000 Sumatran elephants left in the wild.
