Category:

1. New partnership to curb elephant poaching in Kenya

   Posted on 8:00pm Wednesday 20th Feb 2019

   The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has partnered with the TUI Care Foundation to prevent the poaching of elephants and stop human-elephant conflict in the Tsavo conservation area in Kenya. TenBoma is IFAW’s innovative wildlife security initiative.  It means that government and community rangers are trained to better predict and respond to threats and protect the animals and local communities. In short, the tenBoma approach combines tradition – taking traditional knowledge from communities – with modernity – incorporating this knowledge into modern methods and technology. The support from the TUI Care Foundation has enabled IFAW to provide urgently needed equipment to community rangers.  This equipment includes items such as mobile devices, cameras and boots.  These items enable the rangers to gather information on potential threats to wildlife and people. Technology, systematic data processing systems and intelligence will enable the two organisations to implement the initiative. Rangers have communications and mobility equipment such as GPS, smartphones and radios so that they can respond more quickly and effectively to intercept poachers.   These also enable the rangers to get to areas where elephants are raiding crops and so coming into conflict with people. The Tsavo Conservation Area is one of Kenya's most visited tourism destinations.  IFAW say about 12,850 elephants live there, and amongst them are at least 11 of the world’s remaining big tuskers.  They are all facing a threat from poachers who want their ivory and from human-elephant conflict. Find out more

    

2. African Wildlife Foundation gives $25 million to help wildlife and wildlife habitats in Africa

   Posted on 8:00pm Tuesday 13th Nov 2018

   The African Wildlife Foundation will invest $25 million over the next 4 years to support the work being done by local communities and African governments to protect wild lands and wildlife in Africa. The pledge was made at the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) conference in London.  AWF’s President Kaddu Sebunya said that poaching and illegal trade in wildlife poses an acute threat to Africa’s rich heritage of natural wealth. Kaddu says that there is some recovery and stabilization of some vital wildlife populations.   AFW has invested $13.1 million to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in Africa and also a further $5.5 million with public-sector partners.   The total of $18.6 million has been used to: Support anti-poaching efforts on the ground Strengthen prosecutorial and judiciary processes Put sniffer dogs in critical transit points Campaign to stop demand in Asia As a result: 10 out of the 14 populations of elephants the funding has been targeting are increasing or are stable. All rhino populations and 7 out of 9 carnivore populations that AWF supports are increasing or are stable Prosecutors are building stronger case;  judges are delivery stronger sentences for wildlife crimes Sniffer dogs have made over 250 finds And now this most recent pledge will support programmes putting the priorities in place that came out of the London IWT conference: To build African leadership and ownership of the illegal wildlife trade in Africa Protect habitats and key populations of rhinos, elephants, great apes, large carnivores and giraffes Enhance detection of wildlife crimes and strengthen the ability to prosecute and judge, putting criminals behind bars. The belief is that Africa must own and drive the illegal wildlife trade work.  The London conference will help strengthen partnerships across borders to fight the illegal wildlife trade in an effective way. Four key elements are crucial to give Africa’s wildlife a chance, according to AWF Chief Scientist and VP of Species Protection, Dr Philip Muruthi, and they are: Keep wildlife safe from poachers Make wildlife products difficult to move around Actively involve key local players Dampen the demand for wildlife products Visit the African Wildlife Foundation

3. More elephant news...the TN Government is ordered to crack down on elephant corridor encroachment

   Posted on 8:00am Sunday 15th Jul 2018

   The Supreme Court has ordered the TN (State of Tamil Nadu’s) government to track  down on elephant corridor encroachment. There are 400 resorts that are violating the corridor territory and elephant deaths in the state have gone up.  One report in The Times of India says elephant deaths in the state doubled from 61 in 2015-2016 to 125 over the past year. There’s been a long battle between conservationists and resrots owners in Tamil Nadu at the confluence of the Western and Eastern Ghats. Back in 2011, the Madras High Court ordered the creation of an elephant corridor.  Resort owners were to hand over or leave their lands falling within the corridor area. It also mandated that no new development activity was to occur in the area.  Private landowners quickly applied for and got a stay on the order a few months later. During the north east monsoons, the elephants move from Bandipur in Karnataka to Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  In the south west monsoons, they do the opposite journey. Lawyer and conservationist Elephant G Rajendran, said that the elephants’ abode is the forest where it has the food it needs.  They move along their traditional path.  This used to be rich forestry cover but private resorts have chosen to operate there, so the elephants are losing their path Wildlife corridors are vital to wildlife because they enable the animals to get from one essential piece of habitat to another so it is really important they are connected.  Source:  The News Minute

    

4. Ever heard of a canteen for elephants?

   Posted on 8:00pm Friday 13th Jul 2018

   In the south west China’s Yunnan Province, environmental workers have opened some canteens for wild Asian elephants. The aim is to reduce conflicts between the elephants and people. Staff from the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve have created about 100 hectares of the elephant’s favourite food in three different sites.  Bamboo and paper mulberry are on the menu. On 5 July, a canteen had 20 Asian elephants who enjoyed their meal over two hours. In Pu'er City, over 253 hectares of sugarcane, bananas and maize have been planted for the elephants. The idea is that open-air canteens will help entice the elephants away from human settlements to prevent conflicts between the animals and people.  The elephants can munch on food plants far away from the villages so they are less likely to come in to conflict with them.  Fewer elephants are looking for food in the villages now. The wild Asian elephants are endangered animals.   In China their population has grown from over 170 in the 1990s to about 300 today.  They live mainly in Yunnan. Source:  Xinhuanet.com

    

5. Simple steps to stop elephants and other wild animals falling into wells

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 25th Jun 2018

   Elephants and other wild animals are being protected in India by protective barricades around open wells in reserve and revenue forest. This is because the animals were falling into wells. After a survey of the wells, they were nearly all found to be abandoned and unsafe for wild animals. Reports suggest there are about 360 such abandoned wells in the reserve and revenue forest. Rescuing the trapped elephants was an enormous task which took several hours to do, so the Dhenkanal Forest division has taken steps to stop this happening and to prevent elephants and other wild animals from falling into them in the first place. Source:  Newindianexpress.com The Times of India's You Tube video