Bornean Elephants

The scientific name for Bornean elephants is Elephas maximus borneensis. In local language, we called them as Gajah, but they are also known by various names by tribes in Sabah. Some call the elephants by the nicknames “Nenek”, “Aki”, and “Liman” as a sign of respect for this megafauna. Nenek and Aki have the same meaning as Grandmother and Grandfather.

Based on the recent study by Sharma et al. (2021), the best fitting scenario to describe how Bornean elephants can exist in Sabah or some other parts of Borneo involves an end-of-Pleistocene bottleneck between 11,000 - 18,000 years ago. Therefore, it is most likely that natural colonization happened in that period when the Sunda islands were all joined due to a very low sea level at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum.

Males are between 1.57 m and 3.64 m tall, with an average of 2.17 m, and females are between 1.45 m and 2.26 m tall, with an average of 1.96 m.

The Bornean elephant is considered an Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU) which means they are genetically distinct. That’s why they are considered a subspecies of Asian elephant. Physically, they are also slightly different from the other Asian elephants. the Bornean elephant is known to have a smaller body size and. However, we are yet to prove scientifically. We will keep you posted. Their home ranges average 150-200 square-kilometre, although previous estimates have reported home range sizes of 250-400 square-kilometre in non-fragmented landscapes and up to 600 square-kilometre in disturbed, fragmented landscapes.

They use their body parts such as their trunk, vocals, and pad on their feet to communicate with other elephants.

They prefer low-lying areas with open areas to feed. However, today they are often found in "low-quality" habitats dominated by grasses and bushes. Despite their best efforts, Bornean elephants have been shown to thrive in degraded landscapes. However, the complete conversion of forests to agriculture has vastly elevated levels of human-elephant conflict.

The Bornean elephant has a limited distribution and is found only in the northeastern part of the island, astride the international boundary between Malaysian Sabah and Indonesian Kalimantan.

Elephants do not "migrate" in Sabah, but they travel great distances. They roam large areas, revisiting them regularly to sustain their ecological and food needs. Elephants have strong social relationships that govern their movements; yet, habitat fragmentation and human harassment can cause these bonds to be disrupted.

Their diet consists mainly of monocotyledonous plants from Poaceae, Arecaceae, or Musaceae families. Still, they also consume bark, leaves, and other parts of trees and climbers, especially Euphorbiaceae. In addition, monocotyledonous plants (grasses) are vital for the elephants, as they regularly return to the same area to feed on regrowing grass. Monocotyledonous plants grow much faster than woody plants and provide a more regular and stable food source than other plants. Grasses are not common in mature forests, which explains why elephants use grasslands more. Also, the existing correlation between wild elephants and the availability of gray-colored kaolin smectite and illite clay (also known as 'mud volcano') are significant.