Poachers eye SA elephants

13 March 2013 - 03:42 By SCHALK MOUTON
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An African elephant towers above herds of antelope and zebra as they congregate at a precious waterhole on the Etosha salt pan in Namibia.
An African elephant towers above herds of antelope and zebra as they congregate at a precious waterhole on the Etosha salt pan in Namibia.
Image: Screen Grab

South Africa has been warned to protect its elephants as the rest of Africa continues to lose its elephant populations, making it likely that poachers will turn their eyes southwards.

A report titled Elephants in the Dust: The African Elephant Crisis, compiled by wildlife monitoring network Traffic, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Cites and the UN Environmental Programme shows that entire elephant populations in central and western Africa might soon be wiped out unless action is taken soon.

The report, released at the Cites COP 16 convention in Bangkok, warns that "well managed" elephant populations in South Africa might be the next targets. Poaching in Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe has already been recorded.

"Current population estimates suggest alarming declines in elephant numbers in parts of Central Africa and West Africa, as well as an increasing risk of the local extinction of some populations," says the report.

"Previously secure populations in eastern and Southern Africa are under growing threat as a wave of poaching seems to be spreading east and southwards across the continent."

World Wide Fund for Nature CEO Morné du Plessis said that because poachers were "running out" of animals in other parts of Africa, they would soon turn their attention to South Africa.

"Elephant numbers in the rest of Africa are still relatively high and syndicates are paying peanuts to warlords who need money to fund their wars ," he said.

"Once the elephants in the rest of Africa get shot out, the poachers will come knocking on our door."

The Elephants in the Dust report says that at present the number of elephants on the continent is between 420000 and 650000 , with only three countries - Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe - accounting for well over half of them.

But these numbers will plummet if present trends continue.

Traffic and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature started "monitoring the illegal killing of elephants" in Africa in 2001 and, by 2011, when the report was compiled, the number of animals poached was at its highest.

"Indications suggest that the situation did not improve in 2012," reads the report.

"Similarly, the seizure of large shipments of ivory hit an all-time high in 2011, indicating an increasingly active, profitable and well-organised illegal ivory trade between Africa and Asia."

South Africa's elephant population is estimated at 20000.

"These battles are not going to be won or lost in Africa," said Du Plessis. "[They] will be won or lost in Asia."

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