In the Leuser Ecosystem are the last surving remnants of the large animals that used to roam the forests of SE Asia. Back in 1980, we thought that the rate of deforestation and the amount of poaching meant that they would no longer exist in the wild by the year 2000. And we were right - there are virtually none left outside of Leuser.
However in the park we still have substantial populations of ALL the animal species - not just numbers, but in every case sufficient numbers to ensure the future of the species through breeding in the wild. This is not achieved through hope and prayer, but by hard work on the ground, constant patrolling, erecting wildlife barriers to stop them leaving the park and working with the general population to create a greater understanding.
These are the Sumatran species, the Tiger and Orang-utan sub-species only being found in Sumatra and the elephant and rhino are virtually extinct in other areas.
These figures are the current estimates of Mike Griffiths, resident in Aceh, and as the inventor of the camera trap method of taking forest census, now used worldwide, and the man who surveyed the Java Rhino, his figures are probably the most accurate available.
Please note that the 130 Sumatran Rhinos do not include about 30 specimens in a large park on the southern tip of Sumatra where a breeding programme has not enjoyed a great deal of success. However they do represent a 20% increase in Rhino numbers in the park over the last 10 years.
Rhino, Elephant and Orang-utan are slow breeders, producing a baby every 5-7 years, which makes them hihgly vulnerable. Tigers, by contrast, can produce two kittens a year, so their population can increase faster, which it does given sufficient prey animals and protection from poaching.
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