Asian Elephant Specialist Group meeting in Malaysia
The Asian Elephant Specialist Group’s (AsESG) 10th meeting commenced in Malaysia in December. The AsESG is a group of specialists, elephant conservationists, experts and partner organizations concerned with the conservation of the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus). It is under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The 10th meeting is being held at Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah. The meeting is to see the discussion on various issues like managing elephant-human conflict, developing national action plans for conservation, mechanisms to monitor illegal poaching of elephants, sharing of best practices, captive elephant welfare, etc. The meeting is also to discuss the current relevant topics like threat posed by electrocution for elephants and new diseases’ emergence.
The Asiatic Elephant is the largest land animal in Asia. It is spread across 13 range states including India. The Borneo Island, where the meeting is being held, is home to the Borneo Elephant or the Borneo Pygmy Elephant.
