Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Thirty-two African countries on Friday called on the European Union to stop its ivory trade at a conference in Botswana aimed at saving African elephants. Presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Ali Bongo of Gabon and host Ian Khama of Botswana wrote a petition along …
Read More »Gabon fights elephant poachers with hi-tech tracker collars
elephant Libreville, Gabon | AFP | Ever tried to put a GPS real-time tracking collar on a five-tonne animal? Well in Gabon conservationists have begun trying to use the devices on elephants; tracking and drugging the animals, before attaching the high-tech gadgets in a bid to stop poachers and ivory …
Read More »Zimbabwe begins mass transfer of animals to Mozambique
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | The animals won’t travel two-by-two, but thousands of safari stalwarts will soon begin their journeys from Zimbabwe to Mozambique in one of Africa’s largest ever wildlife transfers. Fifty elephants, 100 giraffes, 200 zebras and 200 buffaloes will be among the several thousand animals that will …
Read More »Elephants pay unexpected visit to Tanzania university
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP | Four wild elephants from nearby forests paid an unexpected visit to a university in Tanzania’s capital on Tuesday, triggering more entertainment than panic before being chased away by rangers. “When we saw them in the morning, we were initially afraid and informed the …
Read More »Four arrested with ivory in Abim, northern Uganda
Police in Abim District in northern Uganda are holding four men who were arrested with 22.5 kilograms of ivory. Sixty-seven year old Longoli Longura, Locul Peter Loro 45, Okot Francis 38 and Loila James Boda 24, all Ugandan citizens were arrested by the Natural Resource Conservation Network (NRCN) with help …
Read More »Poachers kill rare giant elephant in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | One of Africa’s oldest and largest elephants was killed by poachers in Kenya on Monday, according to a conservation group that protects the dwindling group of giant “tuskers”. Richard Moller of the Tsavo Trust told AFP that Satao II, named after another famed giant killed …
Read More »Elephants are insomniacs, sleeping just 2 hours a night
Miami, United States | AFP | Elephants hardly ever sleep in the wild, getting around two hours of shut-eye per night and only in the wee hours of the morning, researchers said Wednesday. The findings in the journal PLOS ONE are based on two female wild African elephants — living …
Read More »Fate of Africa’s rhino, elephants to dominate wildlife meet
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Global conservationists and policymakers meet in South Africa from Saturday to chart a way forward in the fight against escalating wildlife trafficking that could drive some species to extinction. The plight of Africa’s rhino and elephants, targeted for their horns and tusks, is expected …
Read More »Why Kenya’s Move To Burn Ivory Stockpiles will Backfire
OPINION: Last week on Saturday, the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta participated in setting to fire 11 pyres and finished ivory goods representing more than 6,000 dead elephants. But will this action really save the elephants which are facing extinction? Many think it’s a gamble and evidence is there to …
Read More »Kenya torches world’s biggest ivory bonfire to save elephants
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Eleven giant pyres of tusks went up in smoke Saturday as Kenya torched its vast ivory stockpile in a grand gesture aimed at shocking the world into stopping the slaughter of elephants. Huge white clouds of smoke spiralled into the sky as the flames took …
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