UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK, Sri Lanka — Earlier this month, more than 300 people gathered near the borders of the Dahaiyagala Wildlife Sanctuary in Sri Lanka’s Uva province armed with axes, long knives, ropes and handheld hoes called mamoties. Their apparent intention: Take control of sanctuary lands and expand their farms. Triggered by a rumor that […]
Tag: Asian Elephant
Cher Urges Edmonton Zoo to Free Elephant Living in Captivity for 40 Years
After helping Kaavan, the world’s loneliest elephant, Cher has her sights set on freeing another elephant. As the co-founder of Free the Wild, Cher is encouraging the Edmonton Valley Zoo to free Lucy, an Asian elephant that’s lived in Canada for 40 years. Cher wrote to Mayor Don Iveson and the Director of Edmonton Valley […]
Push for Ban on Advertising Unethical Elephant Tourism in the UK Gains Momentum
UK-based campaign group Save the Asian Elephants (STAE) is pushing for a ban on advertising in the country of unethical elephant tourism venues. Its campaigning hit a milestone in early 2020, with a petition on the issue surpassing a million signatures. STAE’s founder Duncan McNair says it is “the largest petition in history for the […]
A cruel end for a gentle giant: Critically endangered Sumatran elephant dies in agony after its leg was caught in a trap in Indonesia
The body of a critically endangered elephant killed by a hunting trap was found in Indonesia on Friday, local officials said. Shocking images of the Sumatran elephant show the animal’s decomposing body lying on its side, with a cut on its leg from where it was caught by the trap. The male elephant, who is […]
For border-crossing Thai tigers, the forest on the other side isn’t as green
Big cats require big home ranges. In February 2016, a young male Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) walked from Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand to Kayin state in Myanmar. After crossing mountains, rivers, roads and national borders over the course of its 170-kilometer (105-mile) journey, he ventured out of the forest into […]
Thousands of elephants in Asia ‘beaten into fear and submission’ for tourists
Scrubbing behind the ears of a docile Asian elephant at a sanctuary outside of Kandy, Sri Lanka, I should have realised this wasn’t normal behaviour for a wild animal to allow me so close. At the time, back in 2009 and thousands of miles from home, it seemed harmless. I was also told the experience […]
A taste of honey: how bees mend fences between farmers and elephants
Watchtowers in trees, tripwire alarms, radio collars, chilli smoke and beehive fences: scientists and conservationists across Asia and Africa are coming up with safe and humane ways to keep elephants at bay and reduce conflict with humans. In early June, the agonising death of a pregnant wild elephant that ate an explosives-filled pineapple in India […]
Petition: Brutal Footage Released of Training Practices Used to Break the Spirits of Baby Elephants to Entertain Tourists
World Animal Protection released footage of an elephant training process called “the crush.” In this method, baby elephants are exploited to make them submissive to tourists. Baby and adult elephants are used in entertainment around the world, including giving rides to tourists or performing tricks. “The Crush” is designed to break animals spirits, and according […]