Pygmy Elephant

Tracking and filming Borneo's legendary pygmy elephant was one of the Expedition Borneo team’s most thrilling victories.

The Borneo or pygmy elephant was long thought to be identical to the Asian elephant and descended from a captive population. In 2003, DNA comparison revealed them as a likely new subspecies. There are believed to be fewer than 1,500 pygmy elephants left.

Human development is quickly disrupting wild elephant populations by blocking migration routes, depleting food sources and destroying habitats. So recognizing the pygmy elephant as native to Borneo makes their conservation a high priority and gives biologists important clues about how to manage them.