Protecting the African Elephant

History has been tragic for the African Elephant, the biggest mammal to walk on land. The human desire for ivory, in the form of jewelry, piano keys, snooker balls or even priceless religious artifacts has far surpassed efforts to conserve them and stop their massacre. 

In Kenya, there was a time when despite the costs and risks, Elephants were defended. Poaching Elephants for ivory was unacceptable, and those who engaged in it were demeaned. 

In the 1970s and 1980s the poachers came in the form of packs of tough, wiry killing machines dressed in shukas (sarongs) with guns hidden under them, or hunting with bows and arrows. They followed the tracks of Elephants on foot, killed them and buried the ivory for collection at a later date.

In 1979 there were an estimated 1.3 million African elephants. A decade later, widespread poaching had reduced that figure by more than half. Africa’s savannahs and forests were no longer sanctuaries for elephants; they had been turned into graveyards. 

Just 600,000 African elephants remained who lived in fear and uncertainty. In 1989, a worldwide ban on the ivory trade was approved by CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species). This led to a rebound in the population, to about a million Elephants. Levels of poaching fell dramatically, and black market prices of ivory slumped.

Since 1997, there have been sustained attempts by certain countries to weaken the ban. In 1999, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe were allowed an ‘experimental one-off sale’ of over 49,000kg of ivory to Japan. 

Then, in 2002, a further one off-sale was approved, which finally took place in 2008 – and resulted in 105,000kg of ivory being shipped to China and Japan. Today, levels of poaching and illegal trade are spiraling out of control once again. In many areas, rates of poaching are now the worst they have been since 1989. 

In July 2012 CITES recognized that elephant poaching had reached ‘unsustainable’ levels, not only in small unprotected populations but also among larger populations traditionally regarded as safe. 

Today the poaching and trafficking of ivory is being carried out by a sophisticated network of hunters, middlemen, safe houses and is an international syndicate.

Elephants are highly sophisticated creatures, with exceedingly strong family bonds. Killing the Matriarch or the old Bull for their magnificent tusks results in a vacuum created within the family hierarchy.  The Matriarch brings years of experience in combination with excellent memory and intelligence. They lead their herds in times of drought and famine, circumventing human settlements and then pass on this knowledge to the youngsters.

When these youngsters witness a killing in the herd, it is a traumatic experience for them and that memory never fades away. It is a known fact that an Elephant calf will grieve over the loss of its Mother as strongly as any human being. 

''To stop the poacher, the trader must be also be stopped and to stop the trader, the final buyer must be convinced not to buy ivory. I appeal to people all over the world to stop buying ivory.'' 
President Moi burns 12 tons of ivory, making a public statement against poaching in 1989