Why nearly 90 elephants were found dead near animal sanctuary
WARNING – DISTRESSING IMAGES: The bodies of 87 elephants have been found near an African wildlife sanctuary in one of the worst cases of ivory poaching in recent years.
An aerial survey located the bodies of the elephants near the Okavango Delta wildlife sanctuary in Botswana, many with their tusks removed.
Dr Mike Chase, from the group Elephants Without Borders, told the BBC that the massive scale of the find meant the government of Botswana needed to take “urgent and immediate action” on poaching.
The aerial survey of the area is only halfway through, meaning the elephant death toll could be much higher, The ABC reported.
Revealed and discovered the alarming rate while flying the Botswana government aerial census. "People did warn us of an impending poaching problem and we thought we were prepared for it," said Mr Chase… https://t.co/l6IGO76ZZu
— ElephantsWoutBorders (@ElesWoutBorders) September 3, 2018
“People did warn us of an impending poaching problem and we thought we were prepared for it,” Dr Chase told The BBC.
“The poachers are now turning their guns to Botswana. We have the world’s largest elephant population and it’s open season for poachers.
“Clearly we need to be doing more to stop the scale of what we are recording on our survey.”
Africa’s elephant population has plummeted from millions around 1900 to about 415,000 today.
Intelligent and emotional, with highly developed social behaviour, elephants have been hunted for their ivory for centuries.
A ban on commercial trade in ivory across international borders went into effect in 1990, but many countries continued to allow the domestic buying and selling of ivory.
-with Associated Press
