South Africa Loses First Elephant to Poachers in a Decade

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa suffered its first elephant poaching incident in 10 years this week at the country's largest game reserve, the South African National Parks (SANParks) said on Friday.

An elephant bull was "purposefully shot for its tusks" by four suspected poachers at the Kruger National Park in the eastern Mpumalanga province, SANParks said in a statement.

Elephant poaching has been a problem in the rest of Africa while poaching in South Africa has been largely confined to rhinos, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed for their horns last year.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

"If we compare the situation in Africa our concentration has been on rhinos. We need to now refocus our attention," SANParks spokesman Reynold Thakuli said.

Evidence suggested the tusks were headed for neighboring Mozambique as the incident took place on the northern part of the vast national park, he added.

The demand for ivory and rhino horn in East Asia is thought to be fueling the poaching. Rhino horn can fetch as much as $65,000 a kilogram on the black market, making it more expensive than gold, platinum and cocaine.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American