Devastating News About Elephants

Before we left for Africa, we had seen a 2013 PBS Documentary on the seriousness of elephant poaching in Africa, even in Kenya.  Kenya had made great strides in stopping the flow of illegal ivory out of the country in the late 90s and even when we were here in 2005 they felt confident that poaching was under control.

The statistics are staggering. Conservationist, Lisa. Rolls Hagelberg, CEO of Wildlife Direct, says that at the current rate of decline, African elephants will be extinct in the wild within 10-15 years.   The entire African elephant population is estimated to have been decreased by 53, 000 since 2007. An October 2012 article in National Geographic also had staggering statistics. As recent as July 9,2013, Guardian.com posted an article by Paula Kanumbu entitled " Guns will not win the war against elephant poaching".  Despite massive efforts, Kenya is not winning the war against poachers.  In the first 6 months of 2013, 7.5 tons of ivory were confiscated-- more than all of 2012. 

When we were here in Kenya in 2005 on safari, we had heard that the poaching was under control.  How totally sad to hear that the war is not over.  On July 16, the Washington Post reported that Hillary Rodham Clinton had agreed to take up the public fight of saving African elephants.  This same article said that the elephant population has gone from 1.2 million in 1980 to 420,000 in 2012.

While we were in Amboseli, Leslie Stahl of CBS 60 Minutes was also a guest there. She had fled Tanzania where she was threatened jail time if she didn't stop filming of a documentary on elephants. That should tell you she was onto something hot!

Can you possibly imagine what the driving force is that commands the massive killing of these wonderful creatures?  The primary markets are the Chinese, along with others in Thailand and the Philippines.  The demand for ivory trinkets and religious icons is huge and the middle class people in these countries are now able to afford them.  One tusk will bring nearly $6,000 on the illegal market.  This much money would support an unskilled Kenyan for 10 years.  You can see how a local might be enticed to make the kill for a middleman who will sell it.  The problem, outside of the fact that the killing is totally illegal, is the poor Kenyan will only receive a tiny portion of this.

Maybe all of these articles and TV documentaries will actually make a difference in these terrible statistics.