Mutiara and Anna’s herd used the Wildlife Conservation Area and our leased concession block intensively over the last six months. Her movements were centered along the many rivers in that area. Her movements indicated an attempt to disperse to the south of the WKS corridor road into intensively used farmland. The push to the south was a joint approach with a bull and the cows Mutiara and Ginting. As we know from our old records, the area south of the WKS corridor road is part of Mutiara and Ginting’s historical range. This certainly drives the two females to want to move southwards back to this area occasionally. Mutiara shares much of her time and home range with Freda and Indah. Based on our observations, this clan is as large as 40 elephants.
Our Elephant Conservation and Monitoring Units captured these videos of Mutiara and her herd recently. The first video shows Mutiara and some members of her herd including her calf after covering themselves in mud. Elephants will use dirt and mud like sunscreen to protect their skin from the harsh tropical sun. The second video shows collared elephants Mutiara and Ginting traveling with their herds. Both elephants have been followed and safeguarded for many years via their GPS collars. It’s wonderful to see so many elephants of various ages traveling together.
Thank you to our Mutiara adopters for helping to keep her safe and protected in the Bukit Tigapuluh Ecosystem.
(Program run by Frankfurt Zoological Society and Ministry of Forestry).
