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Countdown to Extinction: The African Elephant
COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION: The African
ELEPHANT
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[WRITER / PHOTO: Makhosi Ncube ]
On the 12th of August 2012 World Elephant Day was born, its birth came about due to the ongoing decimation of the world populations of elephants. it is hard to believe that a century ago the population was estimated to be over 3 million, fast forward to today and we have a mere 400 000 or so elephants left. At this rate, come year 2040 we could be down to no elephants at all. They could be extinct, a story we will tell our grandchildren about. According to research just in the past decade the elephant population has dropped by 62% with an elephant being said to be poached every 26 minutes.
From 2010 to 2014 it is said the price of ivory in the Asian markets tripled, mostly in China, hence driving up the illicit trade of poaching with syndicates making millions if not billions of dollars as the price of illegal ivory soared up and exceeded that of gold. One of the worst cases of elephant poaching up to date would be that which took place in Hwange National Park in 2013. It provided a wake-up call to the whole world and showed the worst in humanity when poachers, instead of using rifles which they normally use, resorted to an even worse method, and poisoned several waterholes in the park with cyanide. This resulted in the death of over 150 elephants and several other species which include the endangered species such as vultures. While the poachers were eventually caught the damage had already been done with reports suggesting that up to twice that number might have been lost due to the poisoning. That stimulated the introduction of stricter measures and more policing. As a result, the park had an upturn in terms of its anti-poaching activities such as patrols around the park and deployment of police and military to assist the rangers. They also received lots of help from well-wishers financially and with equipment such as torches, ammunition, GPS devices etc. Various safari companies also colluded in setting up anti-poaching units to work with National Park.
Meanwhile the COVID-19 outbreak has taken us a step back in our fight against poaching, limited international travel has resulted in little
funds been available to fund anti-poaching patrols. Another factor is that with no tourism happening in the park it means poachers know there is limited movement of vehicles which could result in them being seen and reported. As tourists and also safari camps do act as unofficial Park rangers with their constant movement around the park. Fewer tourists mean increased poaching. Furthermore, the sudden loss of revenue from the travel bans all around the world has had an unfortunate effect in anti-poaching activities and units, as this unfortunate event is rumored to have resulted in job losses for Park wardens, rangers, and game scouts throughout Africa, leaving a huge gap in the fight against poaching. With fewer eyes and boots on the ground to conduct regular patrols through vast areas of the park essentially doubling the workload for the remaining people.
In addition, Human wildlife conflict has always been a huge factor in Africa and now it’s only going to get worse, especially with many people living in the boundaries of the parks having been laid off from their jobs in the tourism sector leading to no income to assist their financial needs. These are the people who usually also assist in the fight against poaching especially in and around their communities, but with the effects of COVID-19 they are unfortunately having to turn to poaching themselves for them and their family’s survival. With elephants being known to meddle in community boundaries a lot of times, destroying the crops that the communities depend on for survival. It only results in people retaliating and killing them for their meat as their only source of food will have been ravaged by the elephants. Unfortunately, it does not end there they are more inclined to join and carry the ivory for the poachers, or scout ahead and warn poachers of patrols. This is because it is a quick source of money for them during these troubling times and it makes them more reluctant to report cases of poaching as they get bribed to keep quiet. Regrettably, an increase in snares has been reported in Hwange National Park since the beginning of the Zimbabwe lockdown in March and June 2020, with over 1000 snares discovered as opposed to just half of that at the same that, in the previous year. One can only imagine the numbers to date. Sadly, even the elephants, often also do end up tangled in these snares resulting in slow painful deaths for them. In my opinion, I would like to think that no animal has faced more persecution than the elephant in Africa. A lot of people just think of them as dangerous animals but there is more to them than that. We could learn how to be better human beings from just observing how these animals are, the way they empathize with each other, how they celebrate birth, how they mourn death, to the way they care not just for their young but for each one of them. Just like us, the elephants are very emotional creatures and their intelligence and capability to solve problems is an amazing thing to behold. We each have our role to play in the fight of elephant poaching both as individuals’ private organisations and the Government:
• The government together with the private sector must set up more anti poaching task forces to work together and share resources.
• The governments must address socio economic needs of areas around the park and subsidize them and help start up community projects.
• A new system must be set in place to monitor the selling of firearms and ammunition with ballistics tracing for all ammunition found at poaching sites, making it easier to trace guns involved.
• As individuals we can join or support companies involved in conservation of wild animals,
• Report illegal wildlife trade,
• And not buy ivory products or uncertified products of wildlife.
