By: Evasari Rukmana (Volunteer Panda Mobile) & Natalia Trita Agnika

An umbrella species or umbrella species is a species that has a very wide range so that if the habitat that becomes its range is well preserved, the animals and other creatures in it can be well preserved as well. WWF-Indonesia carries out conservation efforts for six umbrella species in Indonesia. The six umbrella species are elephants, tigers, orangutans, rhinos, turtles, and whale sharks.

Last Thursday (13/10), WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile introduced umbrella species to students at MAN 2 Bogor. The activity was conducted together with We Love Bogor and the Earth Hour (EH) Bogor community. The first species explained by the Panda Mobile team was the elephant. This animal is one of the endangered species due to rampant poaching for its ivory and habitat destruction that makes elephants enter plantation or residential areas which leads to elephant and human conflicts.

Besides elephants, tigers are also an umbrella species. The existence of tigers is also endangered. "Tigers are hunted for their skin and their fangs are used as necklace accessories," explained one MAN 2 Bogor student when asked why tigers are endangered. The statement of one of the students proves that they already know some of the protected umbrella species and the causes of their extinction.

The Panda Mobile team then continued the explanation of other umbrella species, namely rhinos, orangutans, turtles, and whale sharks. Each species faces its own threats. The Javan rhino, which has a population of less than 100 individuals, is only found in Ujung Kulon. In addition to threats to rhino food due to the emergence of langkap plants, the potential for natural disasters is also a threat. Orangutans are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. This has forced orangutans to forage for food on people's plantations, making them a pest to local residents. Sea turtles are endangered due to poaching of their eggs for consumption and body parts for accessories.

After introducing the umbrella species, the students were invited to watch the movie "Man" and "Save Paper to Save Forest". The first movie watched was "Man". After the students consisting of MPK and OSIS watched this movie, the Panda Mobile team held a discussion and question and answer session. The film tells the story of human greed in overusing biological resources. Not only that, this movie also shows the irresponsible attitude of humans towards nature. Instead of protecting, humans destroy nature on a large scale.

From the second movie, "Save Paper to Save Forest", the students concluded that saving the use of paper is the same as saving trees as raw materials. Thus, the lifestyle of people in urban areas will also affect the preservation of nature.