Habitat loss is a major cause for species decline worldwide. Zoos Victoria works closely with Fauna & Flora International to protect a major part of Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park in northern Sumatra. This is a critically important region where Sumatran Orang-utans, Sumatran Tigers and Sumatran Elephants all still survive.

Although much of the area is legally protected, the forest and its wildlife are still at risk from illegal logging, poaching and land encroachment by illegal settlers. Using elephants as its ‘flagship’ animal, this project engages local communities, government forest rangers, and riders of captive elephants (mahouts) in field-based activities that protect the forest, raise environmental awareness and build support for conservation.

While elephant conservation remains an important issue, the overall program is much broader, and when successful will contribute to the protection of one of the largest remaining pieces of forest in Sumatra, and the wildlife within.