Update: May 16, 15:20
SKUKUZA – It would intensify patrols in areas where there is a large concentration of elephants, SANParks said in reference to the announcement that an elephant carcass had been found with its tusks hacked off.
According to SANParks, the animal’s remains were discovered 14 kilometers from the border with Mozambique. Asked whether the modus operandi of an elephant poacher differs from that of rhino poachers, Mr Isaac Phaahla responded, “We don’t know as yet, but they do shoot the animals, hack off their tusks and quickly make their way out of the KNP, just like the rhino poachers, but we have just had this one incident.”
Its rhino protection strategy applied to all species in the KNP, said SANParks. There is no specific area that has been identified as a potential elephant poaching hotspot, Phaahla concluded, stating that it was difficult to say where these poachers would hit. The SANDF, deployed to patrol the border, were doing their best to secure this frontier according to SANParks.
News of the incident was not, however, news to an anonymous operator who has done extensive anti-poaching work in Mozambique. “We were told by poachers from villages in this region that they were planning to poach elephant across the border in the KNP,” the man told Lowvelder. The exact message had been that elephant would become the target as it became harder and harder to find rhino here. The source said, “They had explained to us exactly how they would remove the tusks in order to carry it the distance to their village.” It may be, he added that a different gang would move into the area who “specialised” in elephant poaching. The information had been passed on to the relevant authorities.
Read more about the threat of elephant poaching and the scale of this crime in Lowvelder next week.
May 16, Initial report
SKUKUZA – As if the current rhino poaching crisis is not enough, the Kruger National Park encountered its first elephant poaching in ten years, it announced yesterday.
The carcass of a bull elephant was found near Pafuri in the northern region by rangers and four sets of tracks leading toward Mozambique.
Countries like Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya have suffered a tide of elephant poaching that has seen large declines in the numbers of these animals: The African elephant is being slaughtered relentlessly for its ivory. Between 1979 – 1989, n estimated 600 000 elephants were massacred in Africa. Here are some facts about this issue:
• Less than 400 000 elephants are left roaming Africa’s forests and Savannah. At the start of the 20th century, there were about 10 million
• 4 elephant are poached every hour
• An estimated 22 000 elephant were poached in 2012
• Tanzania has lost 70% of its elephant population in the last 10 years
• China constitutes 70% of the market for ivory
• A ban on ivory trade was imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1989.
• Populations recovered well until 2008, when poaching resurged, following two one-off sales of stockpiled ivory, conservationists believe.
• According to Tom Milliken, ivory trade expert at Traffic, an organisation that monitors the illegal wildlife trade, the number of large-scale ivory shipments and the quantity of illegal ivory has stadily increased over the last 10 years. 2013 already represented a 20% increase over the previous peak year in 2011.
• The illegal wildlife trade comprises the fourth largest global illegal trade after narcotics, counterfeiting of products and currency, and human trafficking, and is estimated to be worth at least US$19 billion per year.
• According to one illegal trader, 70 tons of ivory per annum cannot meet the demand for chopsticks in China alone.
• According to criminal justice programs and wildlife charities, a kilogram of ivory poached from elephants is available for sale in Asia at prices of $850 (€650).
•Ivory tusks with elaborate carvings on them can be sold for up to USD3,000 per kilogram on the global black market.
• In 1980, there were 1.2 million elephants in Africa. At the start of 2014, due to poaching, wildlife officials estimate that there are around 500,000 elephants remaining.
• African countries under pressure include, among others, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. But elephant poaching takes place in 27 African countries.
SANParks had been preparing to fight elephant poaching it said, “We are saddened by this latest incident but are confident that the dedication and efforts of our rangers and our partners in the security sector will eventually prevail over this malady,” Mr Abe Sibiya, acting CEO of SANParks said.
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