Poaching War Escalates As Suspected Tanzanian Nationals Shot Dead In Kenya’s Tsavo National Park

The district police boss Herbert Khaemba, confirmed the Saturday night incident and said the poachers, suspected to be Tanzanian nationals, were shot dead at Kuranze area, Kasigahu location in Tsavo West National Park. The killings comes barely a week after KWS personnel arrested another poacher and recovered two rifles and three rounds of ammunition at Galana Ranch in the Southern part of Tsavo East National Park in the on-going onslaught on poaching activities in the area.

Khaemba said the rangers on patrol challenged the poachers to surrender but they started shooting at them (rangers) who, in turn, shot back killing three of the poachers.  The warden said by the time the poachers were killed, they had already felled three jumbos. “We had earlier discovered three elephant carcasses without ivory and we highly suspect the gang was behind the killing,” he added.

KWS Director Mr. Julius Kipngetich holding seized Ivory

Skin and Bones remain from poached Elephant in Tsavo

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8% of the world’s elephant population is being killed each year by poachers

Sam Wasser, a conservation biologist at the University of Washington, is calling for a moratorium on the sale of elephant tusks.  Through DNA analysis he has concluded that 8% of the world’s elephant population is being killed each year by poachers.  Wasser has also concluded that most of the black market ivory being seized is coming from Zambia and Tanzania; two countries who are petitioning to have the ban of selling elephant ivory lifted at this years CITES conference.

An elephant being skinned and for meat and tusks by poachers after it was killed.

The head of an African elephant.

Conservation biologists Samuel Wasser (left) and Benezeth Mutayoba remove a piece of elephant tusk for DNA extraction.

A graph comparing Mikumi and Amboseli elephant group sizes.  Mikumi is subject to poaching, Amboseli is not.

To read the full article about Wasser’s findings, click here

Support Petitions to Ban Ivory

It has been nearly a month since we first posted a petition in support of the ban on ivory. Now with CITES CoP15 drawing closer by the day the decision on whether or not ivory stockpiles will be sold comes even closer.  In the words of  Dr. Julius Kipngetich, from a speech last year,”everytime there is a CITES decision on Trade in Elephant Ivory, you always see a spike in poaching activities. The recent escalation is a direct result of CITES 2007 decision allowing 4 southern African states to trade in Ivory”

It is now imperative that people around the world voice their support for the ban on ivory because this meeting can and will decide the fate of elephants and other species in the future.

Help wildlife in Africa by taking a few minutes and signing the following petitions.

The first petition, found here is the initial petition we were promoting. It is sponsored by the Care2 petition site and is aimed at CITES Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers. The second petition, found here, supported by the David Sheldrick  Wildlife Trust is a request urging members of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of CITES to vote NO on the decision to sell ivory stockpiles.

No words needed……

Ivory Conflict Escalates as Africa and EU go head to head: Your Tuna for Our Elephants

Support protection of our elephants and we’ll help you protect your bluefin tuna, 23 African countries told the European Union on Friday. By contrast, if the EU does not back their case, they threatened to oppose Europe’s proposal to ban trade in the giant fish. The group of African countries, which includes Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria, are concerned that most EU countries support Tanzania and Zambia’s attempts to restart the ivory trade.

EU ambassadors met on Friday to finalise the bloc’s position at the next CITES meeting which starts on March 13. The diplomats are expected to confirm support for an endangered listing for the Atlantic bluefin, which would effectively ban trade in the endangered fish which can fetch up to $100,000 each at market. “Please do not force our collective hand to cast our 23 votes against the EU on any of the issues it is supporting such as, for example, the high profile proposed ban on bluefin tuna.”

Bluefin Tuna Populations are in decline

Similarly, so are Elephant populations in Africa

To Read the Full Article…Click Here

Ivory Wars intensifies as Kenya Spearheading the fight

Patrick Omondi, the Head of Species Conservation and Management at the Kenya Wildlife Service, will be testifying in front of the US  congress.  He is seeking US support for his government’s proposal for a 20 year moratorium on the sale of elephant ivory.  All this is happening in the gear up for the major CITES conference March 13-25 in which many major African poaching issues will be discussed.

Patrick Omondi at the CITES conference in 2008 in Switzerland

Kenyan ivory stockpile burnt 1995.

Global Ivory debate escalates as Tanzania revels cost of maintaining its Ivory Stock Piles

Nairobi — As the debate rages worldwide over if Tanzania should be allowed to sell its stockpile of ivory, internal attention is now focused on the practical question of costs.

Does it make sense for the country to continue spending $75,000 annually to secure its stockpile of 12,131 tusks – weighing 89,848.74 kilogrammes and estimated to be worth $12 million in the Asian markets?

An elephant skeleton sitting in the dust

A stock room overflowing with seized ivory

To read the full article click here

New tourism law puts Tanzania on the spot over one-off ivory sale

The East African parliament has passed a new law that opens space for the region to debate freely whether Tanzania should go ahead with the controversial sale of its ivory stockpile.

The EAC Tourism and Wildlife Management Bill was passed into law at a session of the East African Legislative Assembly held in Kampala, Uganda from February 8-19.

It awaits assent by the Heads of State of the five partner states.

A bull male elephant

Tonnes of seized elephant tusks

To read the full article click here

Bleak News from the bush….Poaching is back BIG time in Tanzania

In Tanzania’s Selous game reserve an age-old scourge has returned to haunt Africa’s biggest wildlife stronghold. Poaching is back, big time, with an average of 50 elephants being killed every month to fuel the ivory trade.

Tanzania has become the leading source of illegally exported ivory, with Dar es Salaam as its major transit point. Yet even as the slaughter continues, sending black-market prices soaring to more than $1,000 (£636) a kilogram, Tanzania is urging CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) to lift the worldwide ivory trade ban ???

Unless Tanzania shows the same determination to secure its wildlife heritage as it have shown in the past, the elephants could soon be gone and the Selous will drop off the tourist map.

Click here to read more…

Kenya seeks US support against ivory trade

Kenya’s campaign against trade in elephant ivory goes before the US Congress Wednesday as the government solicits support for its proposal for a 20-year moratorium.
A senior scientist from the Kenya Wildlife Service left for Washington DC Monday to testify about wildlife issues before a US House of Representative committee on Natural Resources.
Patrick Omondi, KWS Head of Species Conservation and Management will brief the committee on the state of elephant poaching with a view to enlisting the US support in opposing Tanzania and Zambia’s proposals to carry out a one-off sale of almost 110 tonnes of ivory.

If there is any question about whether the ivory trade is still alive and well look at these new products on the market.

And where does the ivory come from to make these fine examples of conspicuous consumption?

To read the full article click here

Dar es Salaam to continue push for ivory sale in teeth of Nairobi opposition

Tanzania has said it will soldier on seeking a temporary lifting of the ivory trade ban to enable it to sell its 60 tonne-stockpile which it has been holding for the past two decades — despite its neighbour, Kenya, trumpeting for a total ban.  Shamsa Mwangunga, the minister for Natural Resources and Tourism told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam last week that Kenya’s argument that relaxing the ban on a one-off basis would increase poaching in the region, “does not hold water” because the number of elephants in the country had increased over the past decade.  Mrs Mwangunga said Tanzania and Zambia had already secured backing from the Southern African Development Community for their bid to allow their ivory to be auctioned.

Dr Kalumbi Shangula, permanent secretary in Namibia’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism, told The EastAfrican from Windhoek that his government will back a proposal by Tanzania and Zambia during next month’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Quatar, to be allowed to conduct a one-off ivory auction, saying the proposal is in line with Namibia’s philosophy of utilising natural resources sustainably.

To read the full article…Click here.