Dead Zone
This elephant was killed inside Chad's Zakouma National Park last October when poachers trained automatic weapons on a grazing herd.
It is one of the estimated 38,000 annual victims of the illegal ivory trade.
Image: Jeff Hutchens Reportage by Getty Images
In Brief
- After the near elimination of elephant poaching following the 1989 ban on ivory, demand has returned. Elephant populations are now being decimated like never before.
- Researchers can now accurately map elephant populations over the entire African continent using the DNA in their scat.
- Scientists use this map and DNA extracted from ivory to trace illegal shipments back to their source. The first results from three major seizures show that sophisticated criminal networks are targeting specific groups for intense exploitation.
In 1983 while exploring a small forest called Malundwe on the edge of the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, one of us (Wasser) came across two elephant skulls lying side by side. One, from a female, was big, and the other was small—it had molars just a quarter the size of the female’s and they had not yet been used enough to show any signs of wear. The poachers had first shot the young elephant, a ranger explained, so that they could draw its grieving mother close enough to kill her for her enormous tusks. This exploitation of familial ties in the sophisticated social system of elephants has been repeated thousands of times in Africa.
The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected area in Africa but was nonetheless among the most heavily poached during the well-publicized slaughters that occurred between 1979 and 1989. At least 700,000 elephants were killed during this period—70,000 in the Selous alone. Then, in 1989, Tanzania’s new director of wildlife launched a major antipoaching initiative called Operation Uhai. The combined effort of wildlife rangers, police officers and the military rapidly brought an end to most poaching in the country.
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9 Comments
Add CommentI will never understand how people can live with themselves who abuse and kill innocent creatures for profit. Elephants are such beautiful and amazing creatures. I feel the only way to stop the senseless killing is by pursading everyone not to buy ivory for anything. Do the elephants need their tusks? I'm sure they use them for protection but what is better, less protection or being shot down by human filth. Is there anyway their tusks can be stopped from growing while they are little. Without tusks then they are no value to the murdering poachers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow much of an unethical loser do you have to be to covet objects made out of ivory? It is so sickening. And its really messed up that, as the global economy has suffered, the price for completely useless "luxury" items is rising. What a sad statement that is about humanity and our screwed up priorities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWendy- you ask if there is anyway elephants can be bred to be tuskless. I have read articles describing how this is already happening in Asia and Africa. It might seem nice that these elephants will not die at the hands of poachers (unless they are babies killed to lure out a possibly tusk-bearing mother.) However, these creatures are unfortunately more likely to die at the point of another elephant's tusks- especially the males. Tuskless males will also be less likely to mate because tusk-bearing males will fight them and win.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is terrible that humanity would push a species to this, but that is what is happening. Sadly, tuskless elephants are not the answer.
There is a guy named Steve, originally from Appleton, Wi, ex-CIA, ex-everything dangerous, who turns poachers into paid informants on other poachers in & around the near east, to protect critically endangered species. They've shot and killed poachers in action who wouldn't give up the trade. All funded by both our own Gov & the host nations. So someone, somewhere, is doing something, though it's obviously more than his small team can handle.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGiven the opportunity, I'd join in that hunt too.
You will not change human behavior you will have people who want ivory regardless or even BECAUSE it is so hard to come by.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPoachers will not quit when they can earn the equivalent of a year's income in a single kill.
The best option (other than breeding tusk less animals) is to dart the animals, painlessly harvest the ivory, sell it and use to proceeds to protect the elephants.
I was wondering why the people who manage the national parks over there could not make the ivory worthless by
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thispainting the tusks with some none toxic paint, say in a blue
color.
The park rangers would have to dart each adult elephants
in order to apply the paint, but if the paint was able to be
of a permanent kind then the elephants would not be killed
because the paint would be there to prove it was poached
and it would make no sense to poach it because no one
would buy poached ivory if it could be proven that it was
poached ivory.
I was wondering why the people who manage the national parks over there could not make the ivory worthless by
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thispainting the tusks with some none toxic paint, say in a blue
color.
The park rangers would have to dart each adult elephants
in order to apply the paint, but if the paint was able to be
of a permanent kind then the elephants would not be killed
because the paint would be there to prove it was poached
and it would make no sense to poach it because no one
would buy poached ivory if it could be proven that it was
poached ivory.
I was wondering why the people who manage the national parks over there could not make the ivory worthless by
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thispainting the tusks with some none toxic paint, say in a blue
color.
The park rangers would have to dart each adult elephants
in order to apply the paint, but if the paint was able to be
of a permanent kind then the elephants would not be killed
because the paint would be there to prove it was poached
and it would make no sense to poach it because no one
would buy poached ivory if it could be proven that it was
poached ivory.
SOS Elephants of Chad team is trying to do its best to save the last Chadians elephants and we need deseperatly more support , we are suffering of lack of logistic !
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this