Tag Archives | Africa

Elephant Escapes Death, Tramples Poacher

May 14, 2013

(POACHING) With elephant poaching at an all-time high, one elephant actually managed to save their own life after trampling a poacher who was attempting to shoot him/her. The poacher’s remains were found in Charara National Park in Zimbabwe after entering the reserve sometime between April 19 and 26 with another poacher. While many elephants normally don’t charge their attackers, this elephant’s defense could possibly mark an aggressive change in their behavior due to the frequent loss of their family members at the hands of poachers. Read on for more about this elephant’s brave resistance. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

Rangers Forsake Endangered Rhinos

May 1, 2013

(POACHING) JOHANNESBURG — Possibly betrayed by the very people sworn to protect them, the last 15 rhinos in Mozambique have met a horrible fate. A group of 30 rangers of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park are due in court this month to face accusations claiming they aided poachers in search of these rhinos, leading to the slaughter of all 15 animals. The world’s rhino population is a major concern, making this a terrible tragedy for an already troubled species. Continue reading to find out more on what might be a heartbreaking betrayal. — Global Animal  

Share Your Thoughts

Rangers Kill Poachers To Save Rhinos In South Africa

March 29, 2013

(POACHING) Given the surging demand for rhino horn in China and Vietnam, an estimated 188 rhinos have been poached in South Africa since the start of the year, with 135 killed in Kruger National Park alone. On Wednesday, when park rangers were on patrol, they encountered a group of suspected poachers from Mozambique. When shooting ensued, three of the poachers were killed. Continue reading to learn more about the grand attempts to protect white rhino populations in South Africa. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

Lawmakers Roar To Save King Of The Jungle

February 25, 2013

(POLITICS) Last month, politicians took action toward finalizing the much needed preservation of big cats in Africa. A bipartisan group of 44 members of Congress sent a letter to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service urging them to preserve the African lion under the Endangered Species Act. It’s about time Washington finally decided to step in and help, because in the past 30 years alone, the population of Africa’s lions has been essentially cut in half due to an importation of lion “trophies,” such as lion skins and their parts, with the United States as a the clear leader in importation. Read on and learn more on what lawmakers are doing to help protect this declining species. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

11,000 Gabon Elephants Poached Since 2004

February 16, 2013

(POACHING) Earlier this week, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced that the Gabon’s Minkebe National Park, once home to Africa’s largest forest elephant population, has lost 11,100 individuals to the illegal ivory trade in less than a decade. Surveys suggest that one in every three elephants in what was once a sanctuary for forest elephants has been taken for ivory trinkets. In a statement delivered by Gabon’s presidency, executive secretary of the country’s national parks agency, Lee White, said the future of Africa’s elephants would be compromised if rapid action were not taken. Read more about how this astonishingly sad statistic came to be. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

Foul Play Suspected In Elephant Deaths

February 4, 2013

(ANIMAL WELFARE) Last week, Malaysian authorities released information regarding 10 Borneo pygymy elephants who were found dead in the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve. Now, three more dead elephants have been discovered in Sabah, Malaysia, raising the total death count to 13. Police are looking into the possibility that the elephants were poisoned. This is a catastrophic number because only about 1,500 Borneo pygmy elephants still exist. Read on to find out what happened to this massacre’s only survivor. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

Elephant Poachers Given Weapons

January 23, 2013

(POACHING) Back in November, The New York Times reported that the army chief of Democratic Republic of Congo was suspended over claims he sold weapons to armed groups and elephant poachers, as the government said they had captured a string of towns in eastern Congo, including Goma, a provincial capital, raising serious questions about the stability of this vast and often-troubled country. While Congo’s Army has been infamously corrupt for decades, the Congolese government suspended the chief of staff of ground control after a UN investigation found that he had been running a criminal network which supplied ammunition to elephant poachers and other violent groups. Top elephant researchers in the Congo have suggested that the “Congolese military are implicated in almost all elephant poaching,” making the military “the main perpetrator of illegal elephant killing” in Congo. Click the link below for more information regarding this ongoing issue. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

$1.2 Million Worth Of Elephant Ivory Seized In Kenya

January 18, 2013

(POACHING) Kenyan customs officials seized 638 pieces of elephant ivory this week in a shipment believed to be worth a whopping $1.2 million. This shocking find comes approximately a week after a family of 11 elephants were shot and killed in a Kenyan park for their ivory tusks. Elephants across Africa have become increasingly threatened by poachers in recent years as the demand for ivory trinkets continues to rise in Asia—particularly China. And despite the East African country’s ban on the ivory trade, illegal practices are more prevalent than ever before. Read on to learn more about the heartbreaking news and sign the petition telling Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop imports of elephant tusks and rhino horns. — Global Animal

Share Your Thoughts

Back to top