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ASIAN elephants maintain a significant presence in the Kingdom, despite indications of very high extinction risk, according to Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra on July 2. Also known by their scientific name Elephas maximus, the pachyderms have been classified as 'endangered' in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List since 1986. Pheaktra pointed out that cameras in the Kingdom's protected natural area have captured the giant mammals on numerous occasions, even calves. “These calves are the hope of conservationists and environmentalists in Cambodia and the result of forest and habitat protection, as well as efforts to safeguard the Asian elephant,” …