絶滅危機のスマトラゾウ、赤ちゃん誕生　インドネシア

【ジャカルタＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシアで５日、絶滅の危機にひんしているスマトラゾウの赤ちゃんが誕生した。保護当局が発表した。（写真は、インドネシア西部スマトラ島にあるブルーチナ自然観光公園で生まれたばかりの雌のスマトラゾウ「ンガティニ」〈左〉と母親ゾウ）
　世界自然保護基金（ＷＷＦ）によると、インドネシア西部スマトラ島を生息地とするスマトラゾウは、世界に約２４００～２８００頭しか残っていない。
　地元の保護当局者によると、雌の子ゾウは同島のブルーチナ自然観光公園で５日、２４歳の雌と２５歳の雄の間に生まれ、「ンガティニ」と命名された。「体重１０４キロで、元気に母乳を飲んでいるという。
　昨年末には同島のワイ・カンバス国立公園でも２頭のスマトラゾウが生まれており、保護活動に新たな希望をもたらしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/05-17:22）

A critically endangered Sumatran elephant has been born in Indonesia, officials said Tuesday, another rare birth that has given renewed hope to conservation efforts.
Sumatran elephants are on the brink of extinction with only about 2,400-2,800 left in the world, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The female calf was born Monday at the Buluh Cina nature tourism park in Riau Province on the western island of Sumatra, local conservation agency head Genman Suhefti Hasibuan told AFP.
The unnamed calf was born to a 24-year-old female named Ngatini and a 25-year-old bull named Robin, Genman added.
The female calf weighs 104 kilograms (229 pounds), Genman told AFP.
The calf is healthy, lively, and actively looking for milk from the mother.
Two more critically endangered Sumatran elephants were born late last year in Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra island.
Indonesian officials hailed the births and said they showed conservation efforts were essential to prevent the protected species from extinction.
The elephant population is threatened by rampant poaching for their tusks, which are prized in the illegal wildlife trade.
The archipelago nation faces an ongoing battle against wildlife crime and several elephant poisoning cases have been reported in recent years.
Deforestation has reduced the critically endangered elephants' natural habitat and brought them into increasing conflict with humans.