The life of a circus elephant is anything but easy. Most are beaten brutally, forced to perform unnatural tricks, and starved into submission for people’s entertainment. 72-year-old Suzy is no exception: having spent years in abusive environments, she bears deep physical and psychological scars. However, thanks to the conservation charity Wildlife SOS, she is now […]
Tag: elephants
Mother Elephant Mourns Baby and Carries Calf Around for Days After Passing
Heartbreaking photos show an elephant mother carrying around the body of her baby calf for days after the baby elephant had passed away. The pictures were captured at Namibia’s Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, showing the mom carrying the calf around using her trunk. William Stegmann, a spokesperson for the Twyfelfontein Country Lodge told Newsweek that the […]
Element Africa: Mines take their toll on nature and communities
ITURI PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of Congo — Civil society groups have condemned what they say is illegal gold mining in Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For several years, a Chinese-owned company, Kimia Mining, has been operating a concession inside the reserve, irregularly granted by the DRC government. The groups are calling […]
Ivory trader in Uganda jailed for life in country’s harshest sentence for the crime
A Ugandan ivory trader has been sentenced to life in prison – the country’s longest ever sentence for the crime. Pascal Ochiba was arrested in January this year in a suburb of the capital Kampala with two pieces of ivory, weighing around 10kg. He was convicted for unlawful possession of protected species, the state-run Uganda […]
Drought Forces Zimbabwe to Relocate 2,500 Wild Animals to New Reserve
The effects of climate change are outpacing poaching as the No. 1 threat to wildlife. In Zimbabwe, officials are now moving more than 2,500 wild animals from a reserve in the southern part of the country further north due to an ongoing drought. Rangers are relying on trucks, cranes and even helicopters to move the […]
Customs Officials in Germany Seize Giant Elephant Foot
Customs officials in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, have seized a giant elephant’s foot that has been converted into a velvet-covered container. The foot was from the U.K. and intended for a recipient in Germany. The illegal item did not have the proper paperwork, and it was reportedly intended to be a gift for a Swiss person that […]
After 30 Years of Being Tortured For Entertainment, These Elephants Were Reunited!
Riding an elephant may seem like the epitome of adventure and harmony with nature. Sadly, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Jahn and Chok were victims of wildlife entertainment in Thailand for 30 years. They were forced to spend hours every day giving rides with the sun scorching their bodies, day in and day […]
Bangladesh struggles to protect the last of its last wild elephants
DHAKA, Bangladesh — In the early hours of July 19, a herd of wild elephants came down from the hills to a crop field located in Rangunia, in Bangladesh’s Chattogram district, in search of food. The elephants soon began damaging crops and banana orchards planted close to the forests as they foraged for food. Abdul […]