Sumatra Island is a high conservation priority because of its incredibly high biodiversity, including Sumatran elephants, tigers, rhinos, and orangutans.These flagship species will survive only if their last remaining forests are protected – so will the thousands of other species depending on these forests. Experts recorded high diversity of species in Sumatra, namely 465 species of birds, 194 species of mammals, and 217 species reptile. Sumatra is also high in plant diversity including exotic species like the world’s largest flower Rafflesia arnoldii and the tallest flower Amorphophallus titanum. About 218 species of vascular plants were recorded in a single 200-square-meter plot of dry lowland forest in the Central Sumatra’s Tesso Nilo  landscape, more than twice as many as recorded in the Amazon or any other forest studied. No lowland forest known to science comes close to matching the richness of species diversity in Tesso Nilo.

Unfortunately, in recent years, Sumatra's flagship species have suffered severely from the rapid decline of  their natural habitats due to forest conversion into agricultural and timber plantations, as well as human settlements. As human populations expand and natural habitats shrink, people and animals are increasingly coming into conflict over living space and food. The impacts are often huge. People lose their crops, livestock, property, and sometimes their lives. The species, many of which are already threatened or endangered, are often killed in retaliation or to 'prevent' future conflicts. Poaching and illegal trade also become a serious threat to their survival.





Learn more about Sumatran tiger, rhino, orangutan, and elephant  and find out what you can do  to save them. You can find fact sheet on each of these endangered species in PDF here .

Find out from A to Z of wildlife  where you can explore about the species and ecosystems WWF is actively trying to protect around the world.