Origins of the Bornean elephant

The mystery behind the origins of the Bornean elephant has been uncovered by collaborative research between Cardiff University and researchers across the globe. How the endangered species of elephants came to live in Borneo has been unknown, until a recent study discovered part of the story, finding that elephants might have migrated between the Sunda Islands in Southeast Asia during low sea levels. The Bornean elephant is a subspecies of Asian elephants that only exist in a small region of Borneo, and until recently the origin of these elephants has been divided between two opposing theories. Dr Benoit Goossens, Cardiff University School of Biosciences, said: "It has been thought that the Bornean elephant could have either been recently introduced by humans around 300 years ago, or they could have diverged from Asian elephants a long time ago. "Historical records do show that neighbouring Sultans offered elephants as gifts to the Bornean Sultan in the 17th century, and therefore current elephants could be non-native elephants that have become feral. "There is also genetic research that demonstrated that Bornean elephants are very different from that of the other Asian elephants, suggesting that there was an ancient separation, possibly around 300,000 years ago. However, no elephant fossils have been discovered in Borneo, to add to this theory.