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 […]
Tag: mozambique

Mozambique Sentences Rhino Poachers For Crimes Committed In South Africa
The Mozambican Justice Department has successfully convicted and sentenced two rhino poachers for the slaughter of two rhinos in South Africa’s Limpopo National Park. In a statement on Monday, South African National Parks (SANParks) congratulated the department as the conviction was the first of its kind in Mozambique in over a decade. The two men, […]

The death dealer: Russian surgeon makes $1m a year charging tourists £16,000 to kill lions, £42,000 for white rhinos and £421,000 to slay critically endangered black rhinos
A Russian surgeon has boasted about how he has built a £1.2 million-a-year business offering wealthy tourists the chance to hunt elephants, rhinos and lions as trophies. George Ragozin, who is nicknamed the ‘crazy Russian’ by his clients, offers trophy-seeking foreigners packages that include shooting beasts of their choice, alongside accommodation, food, beer and wine […]

POLL: Should there be an EU-wide domestic ivory ban?
The EU has traditionally been a global leader in tackling the problem of wildlife trafficking and in encouraging other countries to take action. Last year it published a far-reaching Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking, which set out a comprehensive list of actions to address the problem. So why is it dragging its heels when it […]

POLL: Should South Africa strictly enforce its anti-poaching legislation?
It’s been one delay after another in the case against South African alleged rhino poaching kingpin Dumisani Gwala and his two co-accused. The reported reasons run the gamut—changes in venue, changes in magistrates, changes in defense counsel, and requests by Gwala’s defense attorney for more time because of a lack of preparation. The trio was […]

POLL: Should the use of elephants for “entertainment” be banned?
Thousands of elephants being used for entertainment across Asia are kept in cruel, abusive conditions fuelled by the growing tourism industry, World Animal Protection has found. Three out of four elephants surveyed in south-east Asia’s popular tourist destinations are living in harsh conditions where they are being used for rides, with mostly steel or wooden […]

POLL: Should Mozambique’s wildlife park be funded by trophy hunting?
Call it Noah’s Ark on lorries. Dozens of trucks rolled over the Zimbabwe savanna carrying elephants, giraffe, African buffalo, zebras, and numerous other large iconic mammals. Driving more than 600km of dusty roadway, the trucks will deliver their wild loads to a new home: Zinave national park in Mozambique. The animals are a donation from […]

Karma Strikes Again: Trophy Hunter Killed by Elephant
Karma has really been a bitch to trophy hunters in Zimbabwe over the past couple of months. Early last month Scott Van Zyl, the owner of a South African trophy hunting operation, was eaten by the crocodiles he’d intended to kill. On May 19, his friend Theunis Botha, the owner of another South African trophy-hunting […]