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Congo Elephant Population Plummets Due to Poaching
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by jordan | August 22, 2008 at 12:02 pm
399 views | 26 Recommendations | 9 comments
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It's never easy being part of an endangered species, but DR Congo is a particularly rough spot these days. Aside from the embattled gorilla population, now elephants are feeling the heat as well, with their numbers decimated by poachers.
"We've definitely lost 20% of the population this year and probably more," he said. "We have rangers with them, and we're trying to reinforce them. But [the rangers] are outnumbered 20 to one."
The 790 000ha reserve was home to one of Central Africa's largest Savannah elephant herds in the 1970s, numbering about 5 000.
But a brutal 1998 to 2003 war, heavy poaching, corruption and mismanagement of the park have taken a heavy toll. Today conservationists believe no more than 300 elephants remain.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (9)
at 15:07 on August 22nd, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.One of my favourite animals: leave the hefalump alone!
at 16:50 on August 22nd, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Woozles are nice too but it's a damn shame that they are killing the heffalumps.
What can be done?
at 17:39 on August 22nd, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 19:12 on August 22nd, 2008
Elephants are such magnificent creatures, here's hoping that they can be saved for future generations to wonder at !!
wynjym has contributed a photo to this story.
at 21:34 on August 22nd, 2008
This blind yet majestic tusker lives at an Elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka, he was blinded by ivory poachers in a bid to get at his tusks, If you visit Sri Lanka go to the Pinnawela elephant orphanage and you will see him and many other elephants like him... makes one wonder about the state of the world we live in.
This story is a very interesting one .. good stuff
PhantomMenace has contributed a photo to this story.
at 00:44 on August 23rd, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Only a decade ago they was a large increase again and now this.
at 01:16 on August 23rd, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff. Its such a sad story: but I guess when people have done this and not been caught, they carry on. There must be a lot of money in it for them. But the monitoring of the reserves is inadequate.
at 09:22 on August 25th, 2008
jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 11:10 on September 1st, 2008
Mikumi National Wildlife Reserve, Tanzania. One of the few remaining elephants that escaped poaching in this area in the 1970s. Her tusks give away her age.
rs.potterclay has contributed a photo to this story.