The Sumatran elephant is a subspecies of the Asian elephant; All Asian elephants are classified as endangered. The Sumatran elephant is under serious threat from illegal logging and associated habitat loss and fragmentation in Indonesia. The island's elephant population longterm viability is jeopardized by rapid forest conversion to commercial plantation.

Asian elephants are ""flagship"" species for their habitats- that is charismatic representatives of biodiversity within the complex ecosystems they inhabitat. Because these large animals need a lot of space to survive, their conservation will help maintain biological diversity and ecological integrity over extensive areas and so help many other species.