Wildlife Experts Fear for African Elephants

[The Stranger]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600932.html

Wildlife Experts Fear for African Elephants

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 26, 2007; 5:26 PM

An international effort to halt the illegal killing of elephants for their ivory tusks has all but collapsed in most of Africa, leaving officials and advocates alarmed about the survival of the species. A study being reported today estimates that as many as 23,000 animals were slaughtered last year alone.

A team of wildlife and law enforcement experts concluded that a widely hailed 1989 ban on international sales of ivory has been overwhelmed in the face of exploding demand for ivory in Japan and newly rich China and declining support for anti-poaching programs.

"Right now, things are really much worse than before the ban," said Samuel Wasser of the University of Washington, lead author of the report funded jointly by the United States government and several nonprofit groups.

"Almost half of Africa's elephants had been slaughtered in the eight years before the ban, but now the situation is even more extreme because the number of animals is so much lower to begin with," he said. "And unlike in the late '80s, the public has forgotten about this issue."

Wasser said poaching poses a renewed threat to the survival of regional herds in many countries and to the entire subspecies of forest elephants, which he said is now being "annihilated" in central Africa.

[depakid]

1. Yet another of the many wonderful effects of globalization

China & Japan seem not to have a clue about wildlife issues- and will drive many species to extinction to satisfy their irrational demands.

[Richard D]

2. Simply . . .

. . . the most incredible elephant story/experience you'll likely ever read: http://deenametzger.com/animals/animals_long1.html

[leftchick]

3. WWF help here

http://www.worldwildlife.org/elephants/projects.cfm#areas

[MikeNearMcChord]

4. Where are the incentives to help Africans to preserve the

elephant? Also why are there no punishments to Japan and China for the demand?

[bain_sidhe]

5. My favorite story about elephants

http://www.iol.co.za/general/news/newsprint.php?art_id=qw1049798160168B251&sf

A teaser:

A conservation team were left baffled when 11 elephants arrived at their camp in Empangeni, Zululand to rescue a herd of antelope who were being held in a boma.

It seems that elephants are more humane than some humans.

[talkinghead]

6. Who "owns" the elephants?

This is the perfect case of poorly allocated property rights. If the elephants are publicly owned then no one has the incentive to protect them or to stop hunting them. There are several cases in Africa where poaching was a serious problem but once individuals were either allowed to fence in the land occupied by the animals or were allowed to own the animals, the poaching was reduced dramatically. The reason is that individuals now had an incentive to protect the animals. Some allowed hunting and some started safaris but in both cases the populations of the animals in question quickly stabilized and actually began to increase. This has also been shown with salmon populations in the Northwestern United States and most recently with trees in Niger. In Niger, when the state owned the trees, they faced serious deforestation. Thirty years later, now that individuals can own trees there is a very positive resurgence in the tree population. There was an NYT article about it a few weeks ago but you can also read it here: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2007/week7/index.html

[LeftyMom]

9. They're intelligent living beings. Nobody owns them.

The problem isn't who "owns" them, it's that any fuckstick with a gun thinks he can off a feeling creature if it'll make him a few bucks. The solution is to hire game wardens, empower them to keep the selfish armed moran population in check by lethal means, and leave the elephants alone as much as possible.

[talkinghead]

15. If you want to protect the elephants

You will either allow the locals to own the or at least fence off large areas of the land. There are several real-world examples of this working and I can dig them up for you if you like. I actually posted one involving trees in Niger. The game wardens you propose will not have as much of an incentive to protect the elephants as someone who stands to make a substantial profit off of them.

[pinto]

7. "Ivory Wars. Last Stand in Zakouma" A great piece from National Geographic:

A great story with stunning photos about the herds that roam Zakouma, their success and the dangers they face outside the Park.

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0703/feature1/index.html



By J. Michael Fay
Photographs by Michael Nichols

Poachers in Chad are gunning down some of Africa's last great elephant herds whenever they leave Zakouma National Park.


The dead elephant, a huge bull, lay on his side, right leg curled as if in wrenching pain. Dirt covered the exposed eye—magic done by poachers to hide the carcass from vultures. The smell of musth and urine, of fresh death, hung over the mound of the corpse. It was a sight I had seen hundreds of times in central Africa. As I passed my hand over his body from trunk to tail, tears poured down my cheeks. I lifted the bull's ear. Lines of bright red blood bubbled and streamed from his lips, pooling in the dust. His skin was checkered with wrinkles. The base of his trunk was as thick as a man's torso. Deep fissures ran like rivers through the soles of his feet; in those lines, I could trace every step he had taken during his 30 years of life.

This elephant's ancestors had survived centuries of raiding by the armies of Arab and African sultans from the north in search of slaves and ivory. He had lived through civil wars and droughts, only to be killed today for a few pounds of ivory to satisfy human vanity in some distant land. There were tender blades of grass in his mouth. He and his friends had been peacefully roaming in the shaded forest, snapping branches filled with sweet gum. Then, the first gunshot exploded. He bolted, too late. Horses overtook him. Again and again, bullets pummeled his body. We counted eight small holes in his head. Bullets had penetrated the thick skin and lodged in muscle, bone, and brain before he fell. We heard 48 shots before we found him.

Souleyman Mando, the commander of our detachment of mounted park rangers, was silent. I sensed a dark need for revenge. The feeling was mutual.

"Next time, you will get them," I offered.

He feigned a smile. "Inshallah," he said.

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0703/feature1/index.html

© 2007 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.

[lumpy]

8. The National Geo article is excellent.

National Geographic is the best magazine around for covering a wide range of subjects from Iran to elephants.

[The Stranger]

11. Unbelievable.

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. Africa will have no animals left before too long.

Between the poachers and the civil wars they are all in danger.

Wild animals everywhere are in danger. Pretty soon the only safe place for them will be in zoos.

It is a sad testament to our times. And a really tragic one.

[Coventina]

12. WTF is wrong with China & Japan?!?!?!

To them, it seems an animal has no worth except for its parts.

I'm sick and tired of reading about animals about to go extinct due to poaching for those places.

[xchrom]

13. i want to echo the anger at china and japn.

this HAS to stop.

[kwolf68]

14. 2nd echo here

Japan's record on animal issues is abysmal, as is nearly every other far East nation. I fear I will see the extinction of many majestic wonderful creatures in my life time...Black Horned Rhino, Asiatic Lion, Elephants, Polar Bears, etc., etc....countless birds, amphibians, and reptiles.

I don't like it when humanity is blamed for everything, but there is little doubt humanity should be held accountable.

if there is a God, I hope he makes people pay for what he did to his creation.