Horror in Africa

African elephants being poached in unprecedented numbers.  They are disappearing from the continent as the poachers become increasingly militarized.

Full story here at the New York Times.

King Juan Carlos, Honorary Head of World Wildlife Fund Spain, Caught in Elephant Hunt

D'oh! From the Wildlife Extra News....

April 2012. King Juan Carlos of Spain, Honorary President of WWF Spain, is recovering in hospital after breaking his hip in Botswana where he was on an elephant hunt. Apparently it isn't the first time the King has been shooting big game in Africa, or elsewhere (Apparently he killed a bear in Russia a few years ago too). Whilst not illegal, it shows a complete disregard for his 'subjects' and total contempt for his role as 'Honorary President of WWF Spain'.

Commissioned Study Shows Namibian Seals Worth More Alive than Dead

Seal tourism brings in more revenue for the African country than the seal hunt. These are the results of a study commissioned by Bont voor Dieren (BvD), Humane Society International (HSI), Respect for Animals (RFA) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), and produced by the Australia-based independent economics consultancy Economists at Large.

Excerpted from PR Newswire...

"Each year, up to 85,000 seals are killed in Namibia to make just a few dollars from their furs, when they would be worth so much more to the Namibian economy alive," said Claire Bass, WSPA International Oceans Campaign Leader. "Eco-tourism is a growing part of Namibia's identity, but tourists will be shocked to learn that a seal they photograph one day may be clubbed to death the next morning. There is a clear economic case for the government to protect these animals."

Sierra Leone's Elephant Population Near Extinction

Be warned. Awful picture here.

Again, it's all about the damn ivory.

Zambia Calls for Tougher Wildlife Crime Enforcement

Wildlife crime such as poaching and live animal smuggling is becoming increasingly sophisticated. This because it is being run by organized crime networks with professional and ruthless criminals. It's not just some guy with a gun and snare.

Zambia's Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources is calling for a greater cooperation between her country's agencies in dealing with this serious issue. The worst areas of wildlife crime appear to be in rhino and elephant poaching. Obviously, this is due to one word....ivory.

Chimpanzees in Sanctuaries Reflect Widespread Smuggling

It makes sense. The chimpanzee population is decreasing in the wild, but their numbers are increasing in sanctuaries. There are more rescues because there is more smuggling.

Research shows this is what's happening in Cameroon.

Volcano Threatens Endangered Chimpanzees

A volcano near Virunga National Park has erupted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 700 remaining mountain gorillas are safe because they are out of the lava's path, but about 40 endangered chimpanzees and other animals living in the area are directly threatened.

Huge Ivory Seizure in Africa

From the Environment News Service...

More than two tons of illegal ivory have been seized and more than 100 people have been arrested in the largest international operation targeting wildlife crime across Eastern Africa, the Kenya Wildlife Service and INTERPOL announced today.

Thai Police Arrest Ivory Traffickers

Police arrested two Thai nationals for trafficking in African ivory. Unfortunately, if they are found guilty, they would face a maximum of only four years in jail. The fines could be up to 40,000 baht (1,150 dollars).

The dollars part doesn't seem like much to me either, but it could be a fortune in Thailand. Anyone know?

Kenyans Seize Huge Amount of Illegal Ivory

Kenya seized almost 700 kilograms of ivory worth millions of dollars in a night-time raid at the country's main airport. Elephants are being screwed by Asian demand for ivory. It's a mess.

From the BBC....

Officials say the sales have fuelled demand for ivory in Asian countries, especially China, contributing to a sharp increase in elephant poaching.

So far this year poachers in Kenya have killed 128 elephants for their ivory; last year 98 were killed.

In July, Kenyan authorities intercepted 16 elephant tusks and two rhinoceros horns being illegally exported to Laos from Mozambique.

Some wildlife experts have attributed the increase in elephant poaching to the presence of Chinese workers in Africa.

With demand for ivory products increasing back home, some Chinese workers on low salaries in Kenya are reported to have become middlemen in the ivory trade.

Crime Gang Dealing in Rhino Horn and Elephant Ivory

This is big, scary business out there, not some struggling poor people trying to survive. Like in arms dealing and drug smuggling, we are talking dangerous and powerful criminals.

And where is the demand coming from? China of course!

But there are some really courageous people out there trying to expose this trade, including the author, a writer for the UK's Daily Mail. He's got a lot more guts than I have.

From the African Conservation Foundation....the story was actually published earlier in August, but still worth posting

A shocking undercover journey reveals that a poaching cartel known as ‘The Crocodile Gang’, led by Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, is slaughtering rhinos and elephants to fulfill ‘requests’ for horn and ivory.

Dubbed the Crocodile Gang, this cartel - whose existence can be revealed by the Mail today - is behind the ‘industrial-scale slaughter’ of black rhinos, prompting warnings that the species will be hunted to extinction in the region within two years.

And the “godfather” of the poaching cartel is said to be Emmerson Mnangagwa - known by locals now as “The Crocodile.” Also referred to as “The Butcher of Matabeleland”, he is the architect of Zimbabwe’s terrifying state security apparatus, creator of Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Office (CIO) - and rumored to be next in line for president after Mugabe.

Internet Exploits Cameroon's Primates

Illegal wildlife traffickers provide fake credentials to establish that primates are being legitimately offered for sale. Their ads claim that the primate comes with "veterinary health documents, a "permit" from CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and a year's health care guarantee. This is totally fraudulent, however, because CITES bans international trade and does not issues such permits.

And let's not even talk about all the internet sales of trophies and animal parts.

Just another threat to already endangered primates.

Lion Population Decreasing in Kenya

I've been reading a lot about threatened elephants and primate populations in Africa and wondered about lions. One rarely hears about how they are doing. But, unfortunately, they are in trouble too.

This article talks about the specific situation in Kenya. The storyline is all too familiar.

The national lion population has been falling by an average of 100 per year for the last seven years due to a combination of factors, particularly human-wildlife conflict, destruction of habitats, climate change, disease and increase in human population.

Kenya's lion population has dropped from an estimated 2,749 in 2002 to 2,280 in 2004 and probably just 2000 individuals in 2009.

Virunga Wildlife Rangers On the Offensive Against Militias

The Congolese rangers protect the wildlife in Virunga National Park, the most famous inhabitants of which are the 700 remaining mountain gorillas. These rangers are very brave people with possibly the most dangerous jobs in the world. And they don't get paid very much at all.

They've just launched an offensive against the militias that are destroying habitat in order to get charcoal. One of these militias was involved in the Rwandan genocide.

From the official website of Virunga National Park.

The Congolese National Park Authorities have sent the biggest ever deployment of armed rangers to strike at charcoal-making operations run by armed groups deep in the forests of Virunga National Park in Eastern DR Congo. The move, undertaken in collaboration with the UN peace-keeping forces MONUC, follows a report by the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo identifying charcoal from Virunga National Park as a major source of revenue for illegal armed groups. These include the FDLR, the Rwandan militia whose members are held responsible for the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.

Journalists Arrested During Namibian Seal Hunt

Ugly stuff in Namibia, the country with the seal hunting that no one talks about because so few know about it (I mean who thinks about seal hunting in Namibia?)

From Wildlife Extra News...

Secret footage smuggled out of Namibia has revealed the brutal reality of the Namibian seal hunt - and the subsequent attack on British journalist Jim Wickens and South African cameraman Bart Smithers.

The dramatic film shows seals being killed by hunters during a hunt at the Cape Cross Reserve in Namibia and hunters armed with clubs running towards film maker Bart Smithers and Jim Wickens, from the UK's Ecostorm agency. The journalists, who were working on assignment with Dutch lobby group Bont voor Dieren were violently attacked by seal hunters before being detained by police.

The pair were subsequently held by the Namibian authorities before being freed after agreeing to pay a fine for "entering a protected marine area without a permit."

African Activists Work to Save Gorillas

Bushmeat is horrific, especially the trade in apes. To me, eating apes of any kind is akin to human cannibalism.

At least there are activists in African countries themselves that are working to stop this practice. The Last Great Ape Organization in Cameroon is only one of them, but it's the only law enforcement nongovernmental organization in Africa.

Another Dead Mountain Gorilla

A post-mortem is being conducted on Bariyanga, a mountain gorilla found dead in Virunga. There are now only five members left in her group.

This link takes you to a picture of her.

Ivory Bigger than Drugs in Africa

Sad, sad, sad. Why doesn't this greed ever end? Ivory means NOTHING. It's just a material. There is no magic, no power, NOTHING to it. And even with all the public education and media attention, there is just no abatement in demand. It's just so frustrating!

From the AFP...

Trafficking in ivory and game meat has become one of the most lucrative illegal trades in Africa due to rising demand in Asia, experts said on Friday.

"In terms of monetary value, ivory trade has surpassed drugs and is now one of the most thriving illegal trade in the continent," said Karl Karugaba, the head of a panel from the Lusaka Agreement Task Force.

Animals Dying in Virunga National Forest

Lots of animals have died since the beginning of the year. From AFP...

Dozens of animals have been killed by armed groups at Africa's oldest national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of the year, park officials and environmental groups said Tuesday....

"Four chimpanzees were killed last week in the central zone and 11 elephants since the start of the year," park director Emmanuel de Merode told AFP.

He added "a large number of game animals", including antelopes, had also been slaughtered.

Bantu Lukamba, from local environmental NGO Innovation, said: "At least 31 animals, including 11 migratory birds and three hippos were killed over 21 days."

They died between May 25 and June 16, he said.

Here's sobering statistic. In 1980, Lake Edward had a hippopotamus sanctuary with 27,000 animals. Now there are only 300.

Huge Effort to Rescue 60 Elephants in Malawi

They are being moved to a wildlife sanctuary. There has been a lot of violence between the elephants and subsistence farmers (unfortunately, I think the violence is pretty one-sided.)

From Wildlife Extra News....

Rescuers have started evacuating the first of around 60 elephants that have been suffering in an ongoing human-elephant conflict in the southern African country of Malawi, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare - IFAW.

...IFAW has partnered with the government of Malawi to rescue the animals which are at the centre of fierce human-elephant conflict in an area populated mostly by subsistence farmers just south of Lake Malawi.

{Jason Bell-Leask, IFAW Director Southern Africa} said "For years the herd has been maimed by local villagers, sometimes using appallingly cruel methods to protect their crops and granaries from raids by the elephants. To bring this desperate situation into sharp focus, our team on the ground reports that one of the elephants darted this morning is missing the bottom portion of her trunk - probably as a result of a snare."