Trophy hunters in Botswana slaughtered the country’s largest elephant for its nearly 8-foot-long tusks. According to Wildlife At Risk International, the elephant had 200 pounds of ivory in its tusks and was the largest to be hunted in the country since 1996. According to The New York Times, the trophy hunter traveled to Botswana and […]
Tag: African elephant
Why are US Hunters still obtaining permits to import elephant hunting trophies from Zimbabwe and Namibia?
Washington D.C. — Animal welfare groups and conservation activists are taking issue with a recent decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to issue permits to hunters wanting to import elephant hunting trophies into the United States from the African countries of Zimbabwe and Namibia. The Center for Biological Diversity (the Center) brought […]
The Namibian Government exported 22 wild-caught elephants to the United Arab Emirates in March
The export of 22 wild-caught elephants from Namibia to the United Arab Emirates in March has raised concerns over their welfare and stoked criticism of how Namibia manages its wildlife. Fifty-seven elephants were sold at auction in 2021 to private buyers, and 37 have already been captured. Fifteen of those were moved to a private […]
57 wild elephants sold by Namibia for export to undisclosed destinations
According to a statement released today by Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, the government is in the process of capturing 57 wild elephants that were auctioned off last year. Namibia had declared in December 2020, much to the chagrin of environmentalists and elephant supporters, that it would auction off 170 of its elephants […]
‘Poorly conceived’ trophy hunting bill puts wildlife at risk, UK government told
A proposed UK ban on trophy hunting imports risks undermining the conservation of rhinos, elephants and other endangered wildlife, according to a group of leading scientists and conservationists who said African perspectives have been ignored by the government. On Friday, MPs will vote on a private member’s bill to ban trophy hunting imports while, separately, […]
In Mozambique, mystery of tuskless elephant points to poaching as the culprit
Mozambique’s 15-year civil war changed the face of its national parks, which underwent rampant poaching of big mammals, including elephants. It did much more. It changed the face of female African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). The unusually large number of tuskless females at the Gorongosa National Park today can be traced back to the ravages […]
Ivory poaching has led to evolution of tuskless elephants, study finds
Ivory poaching over decades has led to the evolution of tuskless elephants, researchers have found, proving that humans are “literally changing the anatomy” of wild animals. A previously rare genetic mutation causing tusklessness has become very common in some groups of African elephants after a period in which many were killed for their tusks, according […]
Culture shock: how loss of animals’ shared knowledge threatens their survival
At the peak of the whaling industry, in the late 1800s, North Atlantic right whales were slaughtered in their thousands. With each carcass hauled on to the deck, whalers were taking more than just bones and flesh out of the ocean. The slaughtered whales had unique memories of feeding grounds, hunting techniques and communication styles; […]