Percy

Elephant Killing is taking a terrible tollthis year.

Here are excerpts from a reported posted today:

"JOHANNESBURG - Large seizures of elephant tusks make this year the worst on record since ivory sales were banned in 1989, with recent estimates suggesting as many as 3,000 elephants were killed by poachers, experts said."

"2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants," said Tom Milliken, elephant and rhino expert for the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, on Thursday."

"TRAFFIC said Asian crime syndicates are increasingly involved in poaching and the illegal ivory trade across Africa, a trend that coincides with growing Asian investment on the continent."

"report from Kenya's Amboseli National Park highlighted the dangers. There had been almost no poaching for 30 years in the park, which lies in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro until a Chinese company was awarded the contract to build a highway nearby two years ago. Amboseli has lost at least four of its "big tuskers" since then. "

End of quotes.

I wonder if the Chinese company who is still building the highway, won the lower bid contract..because elephant tusking is their great sideline ?!

christabir

It's not just China. The emerging Asian middle class and the idiot leader from I can't remember where who said his cancer was cured with rhino horn make Africa a dangerous place for the animals. Unfortunately we can only try to protect them, we can't reduce the demand. The US and Europe had their time, now it's Asia.

Give to orgs that try to protect them. Anti-poachers need better equipment to compete with the bad guys.

qwovadis

Ditto above

“Technology can save elephants and rhinos, but only when combined with the political will to conserve these species, which at root must enjoy local support.

www.savetheelephants.org

Also education of the medical quackery that embues dead animal
horn cells with healing/aphrodisiacal properties that drives
the poachers to poach.The ultimate solution will be to dry up demand.

sandi

The Chinese, of course!

Whether the Serengeti Highway to harvest minerals out of Lake Victoria (let's not get into whether the local Tanzanians require access... they do), so we can have cheap electronics, or the animals that are poached, all too sad! sad!

dannii

Another thing we all can do is stop buying products that contain palm oil. Palm oil plantations are killing elephant/wildlife habitats. Corporate evil. Educate yourself. http://palmoil.webs.com/

pody22

A very sad and true story on poaching especially in Amboseli area since the road construction started. Wildlife protection is God's command since the garden of Eden.Let us all join hands and save God's creations.