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

[pinto]

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/in...



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/in...

© 2007 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.

[talkinghead]

1. Property rights can solve this.

If the locals are allowed to own the elephants or fence in the elephants, then they will have an incentive to protect the population and the elephants can thrive. The incentive will be in the profits they can make off of safaris or hunting trips but either way, the elephants and the locals will certainly be better off. This has happened with animals and trees in Africa and salmon in the US.