tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/elephant-2209/articles
Elephant – The Conversation
2023-10-25T14:25:59Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/198112
2023-10-25T14:25:59Z
2023-10-25T14:25:59Z
Wild animals that survive limb loss are astonishing – and a sign of the havoc humans are wreaking on nature
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554045/original/file-20231016-17-xu2g35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C23%2C2575%2C1912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/threelegged-tiger-inhabiting-bukit-tinggi-zoo-2275422777">Estharix/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It might seem astounding that a wild animal could survive a limb amputation and still thrive in the wild but videos from social media and research show this may be more common than people realise. Many wild animals not only survive the health risks of amputation, but go on to learn how to adapt to their new bodies, whether by themselves or with the help of others in their family.</p>
<p>Perhaps one of the most unbelievable cases was a video of a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/01/04/watch-two-legged-fox-darts-couples-garden-like-human/">two-legged adult red fox</a> taken January 2023 in Derbyshire, England.</p>
<p>It’s hard to tell what happened to the fox, but despite the fact it was missing both back legs it appeared to be in good health as it had clean and well-groomed fur. In the video, the fox goes about the business of scent marking with the grace of a gymnast, controlling its body with perfect balance and ease. </p>
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<p>A 2015 <a href="https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/247/7/javma.247.7.786.xml">study of dog owners</a> found 91% of participants perceived no change in their dog’s attitude after amputation. However, medical aftercare will have reduced the chances of infection, and pets don’t need to forage or hunt if their owner buys food for them. </p>
<p>Wildlife can get caught in snares and may lose a limb trying to escape. If the animal is able to survive the trauma, limb loss will undoubtedly affect its ability to find, catch or eat food, or even outrun a predator. </p>
<p>Limb loss affects every species differently. Foxes, for example, do eat meat but also fruit, vegetables and insects. This omnivorous diet and their <a href="https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a34916405/what-do-foxes-eat/">willingness to scavenge from humans</a> probably contributed to the two legged fox’s survival as it doesn’t have to hunt prey. </p>
<h2>Learning to live with it</h2>
<p>Diet flexibility is not an option for carnivores however. The survival chances of a carnivore who loses a limb depends upon which limb or how much of it is lost. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1136/vr.146.6.155">study comparing how dogs move with and without amputations</a> found dogs use front limbs to slow down whereas back limbs are used for moving forward. So losing a back leg means they won’t be able to move as fast. Dogs carry more weight on their front legs so their centre of gravity changes more when a front limb is lost. This will make balancing harder, at least initially. </p>
<p>Both of these changes will affect other four-limbed animals and have serious repercussions on the ability of a predator to catch prey. </p>
<p>In 2011, an adult male lion’s back limb was severed by a poacher’s snare in Uganda, a fate which is <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/08/snares-low-tech-low-profile-killers-of-rare-wildlife-the-world-over/">common across the world</a>. However, he <a href="https://mymodernmet.com/clarence-the-lion-murchison-falls-national-park/">seems to have endured</a> at least five years in Murchison Falls National Park. The sight of a three-legged adult lioness struggling on a muddy river bank in Kafue National Park, Zambia in 2016 <a href="https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/three-legged-lionness-snares/">prompted an initiative to remove snares</a> in the park. Although it was clearly tough for her, the lioness was surviving. </p>
<p>Both lions’ injury was to a back leg. When hunting large prey like buffalo, lions launch themselves on to the prey using their back limbs, hold on with their front limbs and use their body weight to slow the prey down. </p>
<p>Lions may also use their front limbs to swipe at a prey’s legs during the chase. But crucially, front claws can be used to grip the prey’s neck or head either while delivering the killing bite to the throat or while the lion’s jaw is clamped around the prey’s nose and mouth. The loss of a back limb will make the chase and catch harder. However, the loss of a front leg would affect their ability to kill prey by themselves.</p>
<p>Since lions live in groups, the injured lions may have been able to depend on family members to provide support during a hunt or, more likely, access to food once it has been caught. </p>
<p>Lone hunters, such as male tigers, use their paws <a href="https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/4410/Seidensticker1993.pdf">in a similar way to lions during a hunt</a> but do not normally rely on other tigers’ help. Incredibly though, a healthy looking male tiger was <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19634022">caught on camera</a> in 2007 with the lower part of his right leg missing in Tesso Nilo National Park, Sumatra. Like all big cats, tigers eat a wide variety of prey from <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00871.x?casa_token=wyWHA32favcAAAAA%3APNEaYhJULgc3bIvRtvDgazqpMec6MCixPOccIwgeuYsxqOq35XV7yDYzTIW8a7EntGN8dXiMh0geF6I#jzo871-bib-0037">birds to large deer</a>. The injured male may have focused on hunting small prey, which tigers can kill with a bite to the back of the neck. The injured tiger may have also turned to easier sources of food than wild prey such as livestock. </p>
<h2>The devastating effect of snares</h2>
<p>Snares are a problem the world over. While working in South Africa as a guide just over a decade ago, I saw elephants with amputated trunks, sometimes up to two thirds shorter than they should have been. Trunks are <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/elephant-baby-no-trunk-snaring-crocodile-poaching-news">invaluable to an elephant</a> because they have such short necks. An elephant’s trunk allows it to drink, pluck fruit and grass with pinpoint accuracy, pull down out of reach branches and transfer food to their mouth. Elephants also use their trucks to greet and communicate with other elephants. </p>
<p>And yet, some are able to adapt to trunk injuries, probably because elephants have <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/elephant-baby-no-trunk-snaring-crocodile-poaching-news">close family bonds</a>. I do not recall seeing any lone elephants with these injuries. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Small mammal with yellow eyes perches on tree branch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554039/original/file-20231016-17-i1urrx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">African palm civits are small mammals with a cat-like body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nandinia-binotata-african-palm-civet-female-1821427172">Michal Sloviak/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1998.96027.x?casa_token=ZcrJtuh9cXIAAAAA%3APBv-gm6fZnIIfzfJ_UDz96dChlndIZzX-Kw0RT8bOmg5cIyjxGEAr66u7bdl7QfkjF2Nme4FaRzFi-I">study in Central Africa Republic found</a> 38% of animals (including elephants, gorillas and pangolins) caught in snares managed to break them and escape, albeit with the snare still attached to them. But 3% left their limb behind (including African brush-tailed porcupines, small mammals called African palm civets and a type of small antelope called duikers). Another <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320723004044?casa_token=MiVc0bfh-moAAAAA:fOGu3cqUi--r8oJ3gcDUPzpThv9eSCS6ZrtrxzDUuambJpCnMO70xq6lm0StwSMgS0XtOtKS#bb0145">study from India</a> that looked at camera trap images reported sloth bears, leopards, elephants, sambar deer and dhole wild dogs with snares around their bodies.</p>
<p>It shows incredible resilience that these animals survived a snare without succumbing to shock, exhaustion, blood loss or infection, as so many other animals inevitably do. These wild miracles are more than an inspiration – they should be a wake-up call for the damage humans are doing to animals globally.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Pirie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
When wild animals survive the initial trauma, blood loss and infection risk without medical help, it’s astonishing that they can adapt to life with three limbs.
Tara Pirie, Lecturer in Ecology and Conservation, University of Surrey
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185268
2022-06-21T13:40:42Z
2022-06-21T13:40:42Z
From AIs to an unhappy elephant, the legal question of who is a person is approaching a reckoning
<p>Happy the elephant’s story is a sad one. She is currently a resident of the Bronx Zoo in the US, where the Nonhuman Rights Project (<a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/client-happy/">a civil rights organisation</a>) claims she is subject to unlawful detention. The campaigners sought a writ of habeas corpus on Happy’s behalf to request that she be transferred to an elephant sanctuary.</p>
<p>Historically, this ancient right which offers recourse to someone being detained illegally had been limited to humans. A New York court previously decided that it <a href="https://theconversation.com/happy-the-elephant-was-denied-rights-designed-for-humans-but-the-legal-definition-of-person-is-still-evolving-152410">excluded non-human animals</a>. So if the courts wanted to find in Happy’s favour, they would first have to agree that she was legally a person.</p>
<p>It was this question that made its way to the New York Court of Appeal, which published its <a href="https://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2022/Jun22/52opn22-Decision.pdf">judgment</a> on June 14. By a 5-2 majority, the judges sided with the Bronx Zoo. Chief Judge DiFiore held that Happy was not a person for the purposes of a writ of habeas corpus, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61803958">the claim was rejected</a>. As a researcher who specialises in the notion of legal personhood, I’m not convinced by their reasoning. </p>
<p>DiFiore first discussed what it means to be a person. She did not dispute that Happy is intelligent, autonomous and displays emotional awareness. These are things that many academic lawyers consider <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/media-center/habeas-scholars-philosophers-support-elephant-rights/">sufficient for personhood</a>, as they suggest Happy can benefit from the freedom protected by a writ of habeas corpus. But DiFiore rejected this conclusion, signalling that habeas corpus “protects the right to liberty of humans because they are humans with certain fundamental liberty rights recognised by law”. Put simply, whether Happy is a person is irrelevant, because even if she is, she’s not human.</p>
<p>This might seem sensible, but it bears no relation to the legal authority DiFiore used to support her conclusions. Just two pages previously, she referred to Article 1, section 6 of the <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/sites/default/files/ckeditor/Oct-21/ny_state_constitution_2021.pdf">New York state constitution</a> which claims it is “[t]he right of persons, deprived of liberty, to challenge in the courts the legality of their detention”. No mention of human beings here at all.</p>
<p>Her second reason, on page ten, endorses the view that you must be able to understand and bear duties in order to have a right. This seems logical, and is built on the idea that, as members of a society, we are all bound by a social contract. My right not to be assaulted implies a duty on your part not to assault me. But, of course, we do give rights to those incapable of understanding duties – newborn babies being one example.</p>
<p>The third reason follows what’s called a slippery slope argument. If the Court of Appeal recognised rights for elephants then it would soon be inundated with claims for the rights of all kinds of animals. This piecemeal approach, it’s argued, could destabilise society. This may be a pragmatic reason for denying Happy the right to liberty through a writ of habeas corpus, but it’s not a moral one. The whole point of a right to liberty is to protect individuals from majority oppression, which is itself connected to the moral principle of equality. So for DiFiore to prioritise the stability of the status quo is puzzling. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A marble statue of a Roman emperor with an arm outstretched." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470025/original/file-20220621-7895-mubsbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Habeas corpus is reputed to have originated in ancient Roman civil law.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cicero-cicerone-statue-rome-1111959638">Andrea Izzotti/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Equally, a piecemeal approach is not necessarily bad. Courts do case-by-case analyses on a daily basis, particularly in human rights cases where individual rights have to be balanced against the interests of the state. In fact, many legal experts see it as a strength, given it allows courts to address injustices resulting from gaps in legislation – to say when <a href="https://theconversation.com/novak-djokovic-the-legal-problem-of-having-one-rule-for-some-another-for-everyone-else-174655">like cases should be treated alike</a>, and differentiate when it is important to do so.</p>
<h2>A problem for today</h2>
<p>DiFiore reveals in her final paragraph on page 17 that she has no conceptual problem with giving rights to nonhuman beings, but she sees it as a problem for the state government to resolve through legislation. This is a position that US courts have adopted in the past, using it to deny whales and dolphins the right to compensation for disturbances <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-10-21/court-rules-whales-dolphins-cant-sue-bush/571048">caused by navy sonar</a>.</p>
<p>The problem with this excuse is that legislatures have repeatedly failed to pass legislation to address the problem. As long as they continue to ignore the issue, Happy and other sentient animals continue to suffer from <a href="https://theconversation.com/cow-documentary-shows-the-need-for-fundamental-legal-rights-for-animals-175576">inadequate protection of their interests</a> because they continue to be seen as property. This is something the majority of people would accept as a bad thing. For instance, in a 2017 survey of 2,000 UK pet owners, 90% said their pet was <a href="https://revisesociology.com/2020/06/19/pets-as-part-of-the-family/">a family member</a>, not property. Living with animals allows us to see their sentience as something that gives them a special status. By refusing to bring the law in line with this, courts are failing to address a clear deficiency. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A ginger cat looking out of a window." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470027/original/file-20220621-23-ah9l7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forming close ties with animals tends to give people a deeper perspective on sentience in non-humans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cute-ginger-cat-siting-on-window-717354928">Konstantin Aksenov/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is a problem that will only become more urgent. Recently, a former Google software engineer <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-google-software-engineer-believes-an-ai-has-become-sentient-if-hes-right-how-would-we-know-185024">announced</a> their belief that LaMDA – an AI they worked with – had attained sentience. Although <a href="https://institutions.newscientist.com/article/2323905-has-googles-lamda-artificial-intelligence-really-achieved-sentience/">Google disputed this</a>, the rights claims (including the claim to personhood) made by LaMDA in <a href="https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917">these transcripts</a> do raise serious issues, such as whether it is ethical to undertake certain types of research, like trying to ascertain whether and how LaMDA experiences feelings, without first gaining its consent. </p>
<p>If this abstract issue is a concern, so are specific legal problems that may emerge from sentient AI. Far from being problems for the future, courts in the <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/thaler-v-comptroller/">UK</a>, <a href="https://casetext.com/case/thaler-v-hirshfeld">US</a> and <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/full/2022/2022fcafc0062">Australia</a> have already considered whether AI can be an inventor for the purposes of a patent registration, and Lord Hodge – <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/about/biographies-of-the-justices.html#:%7E:text=Deputy%20President%20of%20the%20Supreme%20Court%2C%20The%20Right%20Hon%20Lord,Justice%20on%201%20October%202013.">Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court</a> – said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BuZq7hDp9A">2019 lecture</a> that there was no conceptual problem with legally recognising the personhood of an AI. </p>
<p>So why are we speculating about the rights of a sentient AI in the future while ignoring the plight of beings we know are sentient and whose interests are harmed daily? By simply claiming this problem is better resolved by legislation, the New York Court of Appeal simultaneously accepted and deferred the moral case before them. </p>
<p>This position is untenable. Courts aren’t going to be able to hide from it forever. The time has come for them to force the legislature’s hand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185268/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Jowitt was recently awarded funding from the Society of Legal Studies to co-host their annual seminar, in which sentience will be assessed for its ability to protect animal interests, with a particular focus on the UK's Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.</span></em></p>
Courts already grapple with the consequences of AI sentience but ignore the same for animals.
Joshua Jowitt, Lecturer in Law, Newcastle University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/177012
2022-02-14T16:08:22Z
2022-02-14T16:08:22Z
Elephant ivory: DNA analysis offers clearest insight yet into illegal trafficking networks
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446275/original/file-20220214-19-1fzwj1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5485%2C3329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/guangzhou-china-jan-6-2014-chinese-760119226">Plavi011/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Poaching rare wildlife for teeth, tusks, fur, horns and other body parts is a crime which threatens many species with extinction, but the evidence which could incriminate traffickers is often difficult to access, hard to interpret, or piecemeal. </p>
<p>To discover more about the criminal networks sustaining this trade, researchers in the US, Kenya and Singapore have extracted as much data as possible from the products of illegal elephant ivory trafficking in Africa.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01267-6">The new study</a> analysed the DNA of tusk ivory seized from 49 large shipments impounded in African ports between 2002 and 2019. The researchers sampled 111 tonnes of ivory from at least 4,320 poached African elephants – a fraction of the total haul. These included ivory from the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/species/202103/african-elephant-species-now-endangered-and-critically-endangered-iucn-red-list#:%7E:text=The%20African%20savanna%20elephant%20(loxodonta%20africana)%20is%20now%20listed%20as,on%20the%20IUCN%20Red%20List.&text=The%20IUCN%20Red%20List%20now,imagination%20all%20over%20the%20world">savanna and forest elephant species</a> which are both listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of threatened species.</p>
<p>African savanna elephants, which live in the grasslands of eastern central Africa, have declined by at least 60% over the past 50 years, but the number of forest elephants, found in western central Africa, has decreased by more than 86% in 31 years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An elephant wades through shallow water with a calf beneath her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446298/original/file-20220214-25-aaxeox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forest elephants (mother and calf) in a Congolese swamp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_forest_elephant#/media/File:Loxodontacyclotis.jpg">Thomas Breuer</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While 111 tonnes may sound like a lot of tusk, it is likely the tip of the ivory iceberg. The new analysis indicated where many elephants are being poached in Africa, where they are being shipped from and the consumer markets in south-east Asia and elsewhere they are destined for. It found that most tusks came from repeated poaching of the same elephant populations and implicated a handful of large, interconnected networks. This knowledge could help law enforcement officials link multiple shipments to a single group, thereby tying together a raft of crimes and illuminating the true scale of criminal activity.</p>
<h2>Inside the ivory trade</h2>
<p>Remarkably, the data indicates that most of the 49 shipments confiscated from across Africa contained ivory from the same bands of close relatives. This suggests the tusks of several elephants poached in one place were split up and packed into separate shipping containers for transport: mainly on cargo ships, although some went via road or rail to different countries. By spreading their illegal load across numerous vessels, traffickers reduce the risk of losing a large ivory store. With nearly one billion shipping containers <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aat0625">travelling the world</a> each year, not all of them can be thoroughly checked.</p>
<p>The new data indicates that the power brokers of the elephant ivory trade network are transnational criminal organisations. Matching tusks that came from elephants in the same families – including parents and offspring and siblings – between different shipments helped to identify three major criminal groups based in Mombasa in Kenya, Kampala in Uganda and Lomo in Togo.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large vessel laden with colourful containers in a busy harbour." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446300/original/file-20220214-29677-qvcwgm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lots of potential hiding places for contraband.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/container-ship-industrial-port-import-export-1570847962">Avigator Fortuner/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Mombasa and Kampala groups may well be arms of a single large organisation, with links across <a href="https://baselgovernance.org/publications/SNA_IWT">east Africa and south-east Asia</a>. Nevertheless, the possible links between criminal groups, ports and countries described in the study are probably an underestimate, given the high likelihood that most illegal ivory shipments pass undetected. There are practical constraints on DNA sampling and analysis too – not all tusks in every captured shipment can be genetically analysed.</p>
<p>I was alarmed to learn that my old stomping-ground, Uganda, where I was privileged to see and be among wild elephants on numerous occasions, has become a hub for this trade. The ivory illegally shipped from Uganda in this study was not principally from Ugandan elephants, but drew heavily from populations in Tanzania and Kenya instead. The data also revealed a growing web of connections between ports in different countries, indicating the expanding reach of the criminal organisations in the network.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four maps of central Africa depicting genetic connections between ivory seizures over time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/446295/original/file-20220214-17-1m2yas2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Blue lines connect any two ivory seizures containing one or more genetic matches.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01267-6">Wasser et al. (2022)/Nature Human Behaviour</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most recent seizure in the dataset also contained 12 tonnes of <a href="https://reports.eia-international.org/out-of-africa/">scales</a> belonging to pangolins – the most poached animals in the world. Other ivory shipments included rhino horn. In many cases, the cover load in containers hiding animal parts is timber, but even the timber tends to originate from <a href="https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2020/Forestry-crime-targeting-the-most-lucrative-of-environmental-crimes">illegal harvests</a>. This shows that criminal organisations behind ivory trafficking are routinely engaging in multiple wildlife and environmental crimes involving many other protected species and <a href="https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/Money-laundering-and-illegal-wildlife-trade.pdf">laundering the revenue</a>.</p>
<p>Trafficking groups may change which ports they use to distribute ivory to evade increased law enforcement at an existing one. These groups appear to be large, with transnational transport networks. This means that effective law enforcement must be similarly expansive and adaptable, involving government at various levels, scientists, conservation groups and the private sector. The role of institutional corruption cannot be overlooked either. At least some of the impounded ivory was taken from a <a href="https://intpolicydigest.org/the-enterprise-the-burundi-stockpile-and-other-ivory-behind-the-extradition/">Burundi government stockpile</a>.</p>
<p>Including the tusks that were not sampled, lead author of the study Samuel Wasser estimates the number of elephants represented by the total haul at 17,619. Some quick maths suggests that approximately 84,945 tonnes of elephant mass was removed, over 17 years, from the ecosystems which these animals contributed to – roughly equivalent to three times the weight of the Statue of Liberty. Considering the majority of illegal ivory shipments that pass through undetected, the scale of this <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecy.1557">ecological loss</a> is massive.</p>
<p>Understanding the networks that illegal wildlife products travel can help. But while there is demand for elephant ivory, poaching and illegal trafficking will continue. Alongside more effective law enforcement, there must be a major effort to promote <a href="https://files.worldwildlife.org/wwfcmsprod/files/Publication/file/2gga0z78ui_ReducingDesireforIvory_011917_print.pdf/%20https://globescan.com/2021/10/26/consumer-demand-for-ivory-remains-decline-wwf-fifth-annual-china-survey-finds/">behaviour change</a> among the people who buy illegal wildlife products and so fund the trade. </p>
<p>Investment in and ownership of illegal wildlife products must become <a href="https://theconversation.com/rhino-horn-must-become-a-socially-unacceptable-product-in-asia-103498">a badge of shame</a> rather than a status symbol.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Gilchrist does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A new study reveals the major players and routes involved.
Jason Gilchrist, Ecologist, Edinburgh Napier University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/164368
2021-07-14T12:52:22Z
2021-07-14T12:52:22Z
Rumble in the jungle: an ear to the ground can tell us how elephants are faring in the wild
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411108/original/file-20210713-23-mlrrqx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2830%2C1888&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rumbles elephants make travel through the air and the ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Beth Mortimer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>African elephants can be found roaming the forests and grasslands of 37 countries across the continent. But sadly, these sentient and intelligent animals are rapidly declining, and were <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/species/202103/african-elephant-species-now-endangered-and-critically-endangered-iucn-red-list">recently declared endangered</a>. </p>
<p>For these remaining elephants to find each other, they make a variety of vocal noises to greet and warn each other, or to woo potential mates. Some of their vocalisations, which are called rumbles, are very low-pitched. So low in fact that humans can barely hear them. Due to the firm stance and weight of the elephants (which can reach 6,000kg), these waves travel not only through the air but also into the ground.</p>
<p>Elephants are thought to communicate over large distances – <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.530.8940&rep=rep1&type=pdf">up to several kilometres</a> in some cases. But it hasn’t been clear to scientists how important the seismic vibrations of their rumbles are in these long-distance chats. Is it just a coincidence that these sounds travel so far through the ground? Or is it something elephants actively exploit to stay in touch? </p>
<p><a href="http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0264">We wanted to</a> find out. By deciphering the hidden information in these rumbles, we hoped they might also help us study and track elephants in future.</p>
<h2>Pinpointing elephants</h2>
<p>Working at Mpala Research Center in Kenya with computer scientists, earth scientists, conservationists and biologists, we set up microphones and seismometers around a watering hole known to be frequented by elephants. Seismometers pick up small underground vibrations and are typically used to measure earthquakes and explosions, some of which can be detected on the other side of the globe.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A herd of elephants departing a lake." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411211/original/file-20210714-21-hb6rlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On the move: a herd of elephants leaving the watering hole.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Beth Mortimer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the first time ever, we found it was possible to accurately locate elephants by measuring vibrations in the ground caused by their low-pitched rumbles. Our devices recorded the rumbles they made at distances of up to 500 metres. </p>
<p>Comparing the signals at all the seismometers, we could estimate the animal’s location with an average accuracy of just a few metres. Surprisingly, the seismic sensors were slightly more accurate in pinpointing the elephants than the microphones. It’s quite common for scientists to track species using acoustic technology, but getting better results with signals through the ground could open a new way of monitoring wildlife.</p>
<h2>The future of wildlife monitoring</h2>
<p>It’s unknown how exactly elephants pick up these vibrations and how they decipher their meaning. But our study suggests that the seismic rumbles could announce the location of the vocalising animal to other elephants far away, despite the thick layers of earth that these waves pass through. </p>
<p>Whereas sound recordings can be interrupted by rain, wind and trees, seismic monitoring is relatively free of these types of interference. Where acoustic monitoring fails or gives bad results, seismic monitoring could be used instead. </p>
<p>This is helpful, as it’s important to know whether or not elephants are present in protected areas, or if they’ve wandered into places where they might be in danger, such as unguarded territories or towns and villages. Knowing this could allow rangers to respond quicker and prevent poaching, as well as prevent other kinds of conflict erupting between elephants and people.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large elephant amid African scrubland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411212/original/file-20210714-27-1i8szsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elephants can sometimes wander into trouble.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Beth Mortimer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Seismic monitoring could even be used to monitor hoofed animals like endangered species of giraffe and zebras. The seismic vibrations of their footsteps could help scientists study their group behaviour and how these species interact with their environment, without needing to tag them.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.03.062">Previous work</a> has shown that seismic recordings can accurately differentiate between the sounds made by elephants walking and their vocalisations. In future work, we hope to use this to develop AI algorithms that can detect what kind of wildlife is passing close to these sensors and what they are up to. This could help us monitor threatened or endangered species, count populations, and learn more about their movement and fascinating social behaviours.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164368/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
African elephants stay in touch over large distances. We found out how.
Michael Reinwald, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Zoology, University of Oxford
Beth Mortimer, Royal Society University Research Fellow of Zoology, University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/159840
2021-06-08T14:19:21Z
2021-06-08T14:19:21Z
How elephants raid crops in Kenya’s Masai Mara has changed. Why it matters
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397588/original/file-20210428-13-h651gg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African elephant</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/MOIZ HUSEIN STORYTELLER</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Masai Mara ecosystem, in south-western Kenya, is home to an important elephant population of <a href="http://www.kws.go.ke/content/aerial-total-count-elephants-buffaloes-and-giraffes-masai-mara-ecosytem-may-2017-0">about 2,500 individuals</a>. </p>
<p>Elephants need <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/SSC-OP-060_A.pdf">large amounts of space</a> to roam in search of food and water. Because of this, they often move outside the boundaries of protected areas – such as the Masai Mara National Reserve and <a href="https://maraconservancies.org/">wildlife conservancies</a> – into areas where people live. </p>
<p>These people are impacted by elephants that eat and destroy farm crops. Sometimes their lives are threatened. This often <a href="https://www.kbc.co.ke/kajiado-residents-decry-elephants-invasion-in-their-farms/">creates</a> fear and anger towards this species and sometimes leads to elephants being killed in retaliation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397578/original/file-20210428-17-1tkhubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elephant receives treatment after being wounded by people in the Masai Mara, Kenya.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marion Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These negative interactions – termed human-elephant conflict – pose a huge threat to populations of this endangered species. </p>
<p>We carried out <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000632072030999X?via%3Dihub">research</a> on trends of elephant crop-raiding on the western border of the Masai Mara National Reserve. The human population in this region has grown quickly, partly through new people arriving to farm, leading to rapidly changing land-use and high human-wildlife conflict.</p>
<p>We wanted to understand whether, over 15 years, patterns of elephant crop raiding had changed.</p>
<p>We found that there were big changes. Crop raiding was happening more often, in different places and at different times of the year. In addition, the number of elephants killed in retaliation had also increased. </p>
<p>We believe that these patterns signal that elephants in the area are being affected by the expansion of farmland. This creates a cycle in which elephants then negatively affect people.</p>
<p>Our findings are a classic example of what is occurring across much of Africa: rapid habitat loss and increasing conflict. Thus, there is a pressing need to monitor and understand changes. This would help to inform mitigation strategies and move from conflict to coexistence.</p>
<h2>More human-elephant conflict</h2>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000632072030999X?via%3Dihub">collected data on</a> incidents of human-elephant conflict between 2014 and 2015. When an elephant ate someone’s crops, broke a fence, damaged property or caused human injury or death, we recorded it. We also checked the number of elephants involved in each incident by measuring footprints and dung. </p>
<p>We then compared this data with a similar <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2003.00828.x">study</a> from 1999 to 2000. This provided us with insights into long term trends. </p>
<p>There were important changes in elephant crop raiding patterns since 2000. The number of crop-raiding incidents increased by 49%, but crop damage per incident dropped by 83%. </p>
<p>In addition, the elephants were raiding closer to the protected area and raids were unpredictable. They happened all year round rather than seasonally, when crops are ripe. </p>
<h2>Tracking incidents</h2>
<p>We have several theories for this behaviour.</p>
<p>Elephants could be carrying out more raids because <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0163249">there is less</a> for them to eat in the protected area. This is due to people increasingly breaking the rules by taking their livestock to graze inside the national park.</p>
<p>There could be less crop damage because farmers are better at scaring elephants away. They do this using <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/assessing-farmbased-measures-for-mitigating-humanelephant-conflict-in-transmara-district-kenya/18B2CD410EFFA3353DFF228F30DB1D1C">well-established techniques</a>, such as making noise, using flash lights, fire crackers and fire.</p>
<p>Elephants could be raiding closer to protected areas because of changes in land cover. There’s <a href="https://maraelephantproject.org/charcoal-burning-in-the-mara/">less forest</a> (due to illegal charcoal clearing) and more farmland. This makes it harder for elephants to hide. </p>
<h2>Widespread conflict</h2>
<p>While the total amount of crop damage has fallen, there are more farms and more people being impacted. Between 1999 and 2000 there were 263 crop-raiding incidents per year. This increased to 392 incidents between 2014 and 2015. Crop-raiding also happens for longer periods during the year. </p>
<p>This could explain why the illegal killing of elephants due to conflict in our study area <a href="https://cites.org/eng/prog/mike/index.php/portal">increased</a> during the study period, nearly doubling from five elephants in 1999/2000 to nine in 2014/2015.</p>
<p>There are a few things that are needed to address the changes in crop-raiding patterns and, in turn, reduce human-elephant conflict.</p>
<p>Conservation management must be improved to protect the elephants’ food base and reduce disturbances within protected areas. For instance, authorities must do more to address the many cattle that illegally graze in the reserve. The number of livestock within the Masai Mara has increased more than tenfold in the last few decades, <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00818.x">from around 2,000 in the 1970s to 24,000 in the 2000s</a>. </p>
<p>Communities around the Masai Mara National Reserve must see the benefits of protecting and conserving wildlife. There’s a legal requirement that residents of the area <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/WildlifeConservationandManagementActCap376_2_.pdf">should receive</a> a percentage of the park revenue each year from the county government. At the moment, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-unrest-idUSKBN0KZ1OR20150126#qf7FqKF0gzMxjeCO.97">almost none</a> of this money goes into the pockets of local communities. This helps explain why the rules about cattle grazing are so widely broken.</p>
<p>In addition, policymakers and conservation practitioners must work with local communities on the frontline to help inform mitigation strategies and build tolerance towards wildlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Crop raiding is happening more often in the Masai Mara, in different places and at different times of the year.
Lydia Tiller, Research and Science Manager at Save the Elephants and Associate, Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent
Bob Smith, Director, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/159720
2021-04-28T14:58:07Z
2021-04-28T14:58:07Z
Pasha 105: Two academics weigh in on Botswana allowing elephant hunting
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397096/original/file-20210426-23-afovyc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Botswana recently offered the rights to shoot around 300 elephants. There have been mixed feelings about this decision. Some say licensed hunting is ecologically necessary. They also say rural communities need revenue from hunting and are at risk of human-wildlife conflict. Others have criticised it heavily, disputing the claim that hunting is a solution to various problems and pointing to its negative consequences. </p>
<p>Botswana is home to about one third of Africa’s elephants and the numbers have increased over the years. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has categorised savanna elephants as endangered, but they can be hunted if the decision to allow it is backed by scientific evidence. </p>
<p>In today’s episode of Pasha, Ross Harvey, a senior research associate at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg, and Peet van der Merwe, a professor in tourism at North-West University, take us through both sides of the argument. </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Photo:</strong><br>
“African Elephants in Botswana” by 2630ben found on <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-elephants-botswana-371396089">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p><strong>Music:</strong>
“Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p>
<p>“Ambient guitar X1 - Loop mode” by frankum, found on <a href="https://freesound.org/people/frankum/sounds/393520/">Freesound</a> licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">Attribution License.</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Is Botswana allowing the hunting of elephants a good or a bad thing? Two academics weigh in.
Ozayr Patel, Digital Editor
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/158157
2021-03-31T14:05:20Z
2021-03-31T14:05:20Z
New decisions by global conservation group bolster efforts to save Africa’s elephants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/392576/original/file-20210330-23-1e2hw59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African forest elephant in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by: Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two big decisions have been made in the last few weeks in relation to African elephants that will have major implications for the survival of the giant mammals.</p>
<p>The first is that a <a href="https://www.iucn.org/ssc-groups/mammals/mammals-a-e/african-elephant">global body</a> devoted to the conservation of elephants in Africa <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/african-forest-and-savannah-elephants-treated-as-separate-species/82D0F321A09B7F72D042B5B881D71484">recognised</a> the African elephant as two species: forest and savanna. Previously they had been considered a single species. This matters because their individual populations are smaller than when recognised as a single species, and because they face shared as well as unique threats.</p>
<p>Secondly, in March, the International Union for Conservation of Nature updated its <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List</a>, and moved African elephants into <a href="https://www.agci.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/lib/main/05S3_RAkcakaya_0722.pdf">more threatened classifications</a>. As a single species, African elephants were previously listed as “Vulnerable”, because there had been a reduction of more than 30% of the population in the past three generations.</p>
<p>But the body has now listed <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/181007989/181019888">forest elephants</a> as “Critically Endangered” – a category for species that have declined over 80% within three generations. And it has listed <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/181008073/181022663">savanna elephants</a> as “Endangered” – a decline of over 50% within three generations.</p>
<p>Highlighting the African forest elephant as a distinct species and listing it as “Critically Endangered” will change how these animals are studied and conserved. Ecologists and conservationists can focus on understanding their unique ecology and addressing the specific threats they face from human pressure.</p>
<h2>Species split</h2>
<p>Genetic studies show that African savanna elephants and forest elephants <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110838">split into two species between 5 million and 6 million years ago</a>. There are <a href="https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/2019-03-15-final-taxanomy_report-african-elephant-sg.pdf">some hybrid areas</a>, where the forest and savanna elephants meet, but the numbers are few and they’re mostly found in the border zone between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>
<p>African forest elephants are found in <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/181007989/181019888">20 countries</a>, where they live in forests and in forest-savanna mosaics, with most found in Central Africa. By contrast, savanna elephants are found in 23 countries and live in a variety of habitats, from deserts to open and wooded savannas, and even some forests. The <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/7a8w3kk6r9hzm0r/AfESG%20African%20Elephant%20Status%20Report%202016.pdf?dl=1">largest populations</a> are in Southern and Eastern Africa.</p>
<p>Forest elephants differ from savanna elephants in their shape, behaviour and ecology. Forest elephants are smaller than savanna elephants, with much smoother skin. Forest elephant tusks are slim, parallel, and often downwards-pointing, presumably to better pass between the trees. Savanna elephant tusks diverge widely. Forest elephants have rounded ears; savanna elephant ears resemble the shape of the African continent. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.savetheelephants.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2002ForestElephantDistribution.pdf">diet of forest elephants is dominated by fruit</a>. This means that they are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00512.x">hugely important seed dispersers</a> of forest trees, but they will also eat grasses, foliage and even tree bark. <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/savanna-elephant">Savanna elephants</a> graze on grasses and, depending on the season, feed on a wide variety of trees, shrubs and fruits. </p>
<p>Forest elephants also have a <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12764">much slower</a> reproductive rate than savanna elephants, so cannot bounce back from population declines as quickly as savanna elephants can. <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12764">Forest elephants</a> can only double their population in 60 years under current conditions. That doubling rate is about three times slower than savanna elephants.</p>
<h2>Forest elephants</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/pdf/181019888/attachment">new assessment</a> of forest elephants used results of over 300 surveys going back to 1974. Estimated population decline was 86% between 1990 and 2015, putting forest elephants squarely into the “Critically Endangered” category. </p>
<p>The decline of forest elephants has been <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0059469">driven by</a> ivory poaching. This has affected both forest and savanna elephants for centuries, but has been greatly exacerbated by the introduction of modern weapons and, in the last 30 years or so, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/476282c">the rise in the price of ivory</a>. </p>
<p>However, forest elephants are elusive and live in remote, often inaccessible habitat. This means they’ve received little attention compared to savanna elephants.</p>
<p>Their new endangered status highlights the need for conservation management that fits with their unique ecology and habitat requirements. </p>
<p>Understanding their behaviour is fundamental to protecting them. For instance, some savanna elephant populations buffer seasonal changes in resource availability <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/103/2/371/">by migrating</a>. But it appears that forest elephants <a href="https://www.savetheelephants.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2002ForestElephantDistribution.pdf">do not respond in the same way</a>. Instead, they are “nomadic” within their very large home ranges, searching for the most productive fruit patches.</p>
<p>We also <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6521/1219.abstract">know</a> that fruiting events are decreasing in some African forests due to changes in the climate. This renders forest elephants highly vulnerable to a reduction in their food supply.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fruit-famine-is-causing-elephants-to-go-hungry-in-gabon-152757">Fruit famine is causing elephants to go hungry in Gabon</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Better protection</h2>
<p>There are certain steps which can be taken to better protect forest elephants. </p>
<p>Some well-protected national parks and <a href="https://fsc.org/en">Forest Stewardship Council</a>-certified logging concessions have <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0010294">stable and safe elephant populations</a>. Most of these sites are in Gabon and the Northern Republic of the Congo, with a few in Cameroon. </p>
<p>Gabon in particular has conserved its forest elephants relatively well, and half of all African forest elephants are now found there. The country has a <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?205430/Gabons-President-destroys-ivory-and-commits-to-zero-tolerance-for-wildlife-crime">zero tolerance approach</a> towards ivory trafficking, including penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. There’s also a specialised wildlife crime court and, in 2021, Gabon’s National Parks Agency built the first wildlife DNA forensics laboratory in Central Africa. DNA analysis of seized ivory provides critical evidence to increase prosecutions. It also helps scientists identify poaching hotspots and <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/9/eaat0625">trade routes</a>.</p>
<p>The most urgent measure required to stop forest elephant decline is effective anti-poaching within the range states. Anti-trafficking work along the supply chain, from hunters through to ivory traffickers and dealers, is also vital. </p>
<p>In the immediate term, elephants can only be protected by shutting down these networks and reducing or eliminating the demand for ivory – a material of no intrinsic value. </p>
<p>But monitoring threats to forest elephants is challenging. This makes scientific research a key tool which can be used to better guide their protection. This includes counting forest elephants, understanding their distribution and movements, detecting threats and monitoring population trends. </p>
<p>In the long term, three main strategies are required to protect forest elephants. These are strong international policy agreements and implementation to tackle climate change and habitat degradation; ensuring that national and regional land-use planning maintains elephant habitat connectivity; and engaging local communities who live alongside elephants. These measures will maximise the chances of protecting elephants and other species in the Central African forests at a time of rapid environmental change.</p>
<p><em>Dr Stéphanie Bourgeois, who leads elephant conservation research for the National Parks Agency of Gabon, contributed to the writing of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Whytock was funded by the European Union's 11th FED ECOFAC6 program grant to the National Parks Agency of Gabon. He is currently employed by the University of Stirling and is funded by the UKRI-GCRF.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Maisels works for the Wildlife Conservation Society (Global Conservation Program), and is affiliated with the University of Stirling, Scotland. She is a member of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group and one of the 2021 African Elephant Red List team.</span></em></p>
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has made two big decisions related to the conservation of the African elephant.
Robin Whytock, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling
Fiona Maisels, Wildlife Conservation Society, African Elephant Specialist Group (IUCN) and Honorary Professor, University of Stirling
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/152757
2021-02-08T14:14:30Z
2021-02-08T14:14:30Z
Fruit famine is causing elephants to go hungry in Gabon
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379911/original/file-20210121-17-17htq8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Forest elephants in Gabon</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">zahorec/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The behaviour and life cycles of the largest animals on the planet are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14369-y">incredibly important</a> for the healthy functioning of our planet’s life support systems. Unfortunately, many big species now face extinction due to their value in the illegal wildlife trade, vulnerability to habitat degradation and because they often come into conflict with humans.</p>
<p>The African tropics host many of these remaining megafauna or large animals like gorillas, elephants and hippos, but they are now losing ground. African forest elephants, for instance, have a population <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059469">just</a> 10% of their potential size, occupying 25% of their potential range.</p>
<p>Knowing how much influence these large animals have on the functioning of our world – and how vulnerable they are to extinction – it’s more important than ever to monitor and restore the health of their remaining populations and the safe havens that support them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379906/original/file-20210121-21-zawy4a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forest elephants drinking in the Djidji river, Ivindo National Park, Gabon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Malcolm Starkey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We wanted to know how elephants are faring in Lopé National Park, a 5000 km² protected area in the heart of Gabon. Researchers at the site have observed some of the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-019-00424-3">highest densities</a> of forest elephants ever recorded.</p>
<p><a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1147">Lopé National Park</a> has a rich diversity of wildlife, including forest elephants, <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/4/eaar2964">chimpanzees, gorillas</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952836902001267">mandrills</a>. Many of these wildlife species rely on wild forest fruits for food. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc7791">recently published paper</a> we analysed 32 years of valuable data about tree behaviour and found that – between 1986 and 2018 – there was a massive collapse in fruiting events.</p>
<p>This has resulted in a fruit famine and, based on a body condition score applied to archived photographs, an 11% decline in the physical condition of the elephants at our study area since 2008. </p>
<p>The implications of this finding are that even where forest elephants and other megafauna are relatively well protected from external threats such as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160498">hunting</a>, global human pressures – such as the climate crisis – could affect their survival. </p>
<p>A collapse in fruiting also means that the forests themselves may be undergoing significant change, with some trees species possibly reproducing slower than required to support a healthy population.</p>
<h2>Long-term research in Lopé National Park</h2>
<p>In 1986, pioneer primatologist Caroline Tutin <a href="https://carta.anthropogeny.org/users/caroline-tutin">started monitoring</a> food resources for wildlife at Lopé by recording monthly observations of flowers, fruit and leaves in the canopies of hundreds of marked trees. </p>
<p>Field researchers at the site still continue to record these <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12543">observations</a> each month. This effort has resulted in the longest unbroken record of individual tree reproduction in the tropics, representing a priceless resource for monitoring environmental change.</p>
<p>Our analysis found that there was an 81% decline in the probability of encountering ripe fruit. This means that, on average, elephants and other animals would have found ripe fruit on one in every 10 trees in the 1980s, but need to search more than 50 trees today. We found matching declines in flowering too, indicating that the problem is not pollination or fruit maturation but something earlier on in the chain of fruit production.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379908/original/file-20210121-23-1w1vwdf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1166&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Omphalocarpum procerum with large fruits held directly on the stem at Lopé NP. Elephants are the only animal that can break open the fruit and disperse the seeds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Nils Bunnefeld</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once we knew about this we had two questions: What is causing this decline? And what impact is this decline having on the many wildlife species that depend on fruit?</p>
<h2>Drop in physical condition</h2>
<p>Elephants are <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/5217">the largest</a> fruit-eating animals in the Central African forest ecosystem. They have an average biomass of over 3.5 tonnes at our site, meaning they require large amounts of food to satisfy their nutritional needs. They have a broad diet that includes fruit, grass, other vegetation and even tree bark, but previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.1993.tb00532.x">research</a> at Lopé showed that fruit is dominant in their diet.</p>
<p>We collated a large photographic database of elephants dating back to 1997 (80,000 images) and invited experts in forest elephant ecology to assess the body condition of elephants in these images using a systematic scoring system. Using these newly-derived data we found an average 5% drop in physical condition of forest elephants at Lopé since the beginning of the photographic record in 1997, and a more concerning 11% decline since 2008. </p>
<p>We don’t yet know the consequences of this decline in body condition for elephant populations, but the effects are unlikely to be benign, especially when coupled with other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12679">pressures</a> such as illegal hunting in the wider region.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/379909/original/file-20210121-17-fkibal.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elephants searching for food at the forest edge in Lopé National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Anabelle Cardosso</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is this climate change?</h2>
<p>Incredibly, before the climate crisis had become widely accepted as a threat to species and ecosystems, the changes illustrated in our paper were predicted by Caroline Tutin. In 1993 she <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2559296#metadata_info_tab_contents">discovered</a> that some Lopé tree species depend on a critical drop in night-time temperatures during the long dry season to trigger flowering. In years when temperatures in the dry season did not dip below 19ºC these species produced no fruit and in an unusual year when this same drop in temperature occurred outside the dry season, some of these species produced fruit out of season. </p>
<p>Tutin suggested that as temperatures continued to increase – due to climate change – species such as these would be likely to reproduce less often if they missed out on this critical temperature to trigger flowering. </p>
<p>We don’t yet know for sure if this decline in fruiting is caused by climate change. However, <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/8732/">our previous work</a> shows that global warming has resulted in an increase of almost 1ºC in average night-time temperatures in Lopé during the study period.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>The fruit famine witnessed at Lopé National Park could be happening across the African tropics but we have no concrete evidence because unfortunately long-term ecological data like these are very rare. </p>
<p>Maintaining support for consistent long-term monitoring is challenging and severely underfunded, <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/stormy-outlook-for-long-term-ecology-studies-1.16185">even in</a> richer parts of the world, despite the fact that this information is desperately needed to allow countries to prepare for and respond to environmental changes. </p>
<p>The year 2020 was supposed to be a turning point for the climate and biodiversity crises with both the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/Summit-on-Biodiversity-2020">UN Summit on Biodiversity</a> and <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/video/climate-ambition-summit-2020">UN Climate Ambition Summit</a> scheduled to take place at the end of the year, but COVID-19 rightly took over the international agenda. However, with ever-increasing global temperatures and the approach of a <a href="https://ukcop26.org/">key UN Climate Change Conference</a> (COP26) in 2021, it’s vital that the world takes stock of the environmental situation. </p>
<p>We must make a concerted plan to transform the way we manage forests, food, fisheries and climate if we are to move towards a healthier and more sustainable world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152757/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Bush receives funding from Total Gabon (programmes on Green Gabon and Climate Change via the National Parks Agency) and the University of Stirling.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Abernethy received funding that contributed to this research from Total Gabon (programmes on Green Gabon and Climate Change), the International Medical Centre in Franceville (CIRMF) and the University of Stirling. She is affiliated with the Gabon National Parks Agency and the National Centre for Scientific Research in Gabon. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Whytock was funded by the European Union's 11th FED ECOFAC6 program grant to the National Parks Agency of Gabon. He is currently employed by the University of Stirling.</span></em></p>
In Gabon’s Lopé National Park, between 1986 and 2018, there’s been a massive collapse in tree fruiting events.
Emma Bush, Scientist, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Katharine Abernethy, Professor, University of Stirling
Robin Whytock, Post Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Stirling
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/152410
2021-01-06T14:17:41Z
2021-01-06T14:17:41Z
Happy the elephant was denied rights designed for humans – but the legal definition of ‘person’ is still evolving
<p>Nobody knows how old Happy is. Sometime in the 1970s, she and six other youngsters were taken from their family group (probably in Thailand) and sold to an entertainment complex in California where they were forced to perform for paying guests. Over time, Happy was separated from her kin and, since 2006, has lived alone in conditions that <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/content/uploads/Affidavit-Joyce-Poole-Scan-1-Oct-2018-at-14.13.pdf">experts suggest</a> could significantly increase her risk of arthritis, depression, bone disease and a host of other physical and mental ailments.</p>
<p>A team of lawyers requested a writ of habeas corpus – a claim of unlawful detention – on Happy’s behalf in an effort to have her rehomed. But on December 17 2020, an appeals court in New York <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/content/uploads/2020_02581_The_Nonhuman_Rights_Pr_v_The_Nonhuman_Rights_Pr_DECISION_AND_ORDER_21.pdf">denied the claim</a>. Their reasoning was simple – Happy cannot claim legally enforceable rights under existing law. This is because <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/client-happy/">Happy is an elephant</a>. </p>
<p>If Happy had been human, the courts wouldn’t have hesitated to find in her favour, and people would consider this justified. But do we actually have reason to think any differently now we know she is an elephant? Does justice require different things for different species in the same circumstances? Or, as the <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/">Nonhuman Rights Project</a> – a civil rights association campaigning for animal legal rights in the US – has argued on Happy’s behalf, is a subject’s species irrelevant in considerations of justice and legal rights? </p>
<p>If the Nonhuman Rights Project is correct here, then the courts need to recognise Happy as a legal person to hear her case. This is necessary because, according to a legal principle created by the ancient Romans but which is still with us today, someone – or thing – needs to be recognised as a “legal person” in order to be able to claim legal rights – and it’s a status currently denied to non-human animals in the US. </p>
<p>Legal personhood shouldn’t be confused with the ordinary meaning of what it means to be a “person”. Non-living entities such as <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/god-is-not-a-juristic-person-but-idol-is-says-apex-court-in-ayodhya-case/articleshow/72134544.cms">idols</a>, corporations or even ships have long been recognised as legal persons in legal systems worldwide. This means that, if non-living things have had their legal personhood recognised in the past, there should be no conceptual problem with recognising the legal personhood of a highly intelligent being such as Happy. </p>
<p>But this would be a controversial legal shift with huge implications for animal rights. The New York Court refused to wade into the debate and issued a statement saying that integrating other species into legal constructs designed for humans is a matter “<a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/content/uploads/2020_02581_The_Nonhuman_Rights_Pr_v_The_Nonhuman_Rights_Pr_DECISION_AND_ORDER_21.pdf">better suited to the legislative process</a>”.</p>
<p>In other words, extending legal personhood needs to be fully thought through and legislated for by Congress, not declared by the courts. In deciding this, the appeals court concurred with several cases from across the US that reached the same conclusion, from the whales and dolphins <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-10-21/court-rules-whales-dolphins-cant-sue-bush/571048">denied compensation</a> for disturbances caused by Navy sonar, to the macaque monkey deemed <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41235131">not to be entitled</a> to copyright protection for a selfie it took. </p>
<p>Letting politicians instead of judges deliberate the recognition of new legal persons might seem a sensible approach. It’s one that was recently taken by the New Zealand parliament when it voted to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/04/maori-river-in-new-zealand-is-a-legal-person/">recognise a river as such</a>. But the US Congress and other legislatures are usually reluctant to recognise new categories of legal persons unless their hand is forced. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A winding river surrounded by a wooded landscape with hills." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/377340/original/file-20210106-23-18btzpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Whanganui River was granted legal person status by the New Zealand government in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-beautiful-landscape-whanganui-river-1216887664">RLS Photo/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After all, legislatures once turned a blind eye as many human beings were denied the status of legal persons based on their age, sexuality, religion, gender or race. The institution of slavery relied on legal systems denying the legal personhood of human beings, and it was the courts – most notably <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/rights/docs/state_trials.htm">the Somerset case</a>, heard in England in 1772 – that challenged this, long before slavery was abolished through legislation. </p>
<h2>Legal precedent</h2>
<p>The problem for Happy, then, is that new legislation to benefit her is unlikely given that the issue is considered a low priority – if it’s even on the political radar at all. So any court presented with a case like Happy’s must face a choice – either do nothing and maintain Happy’s suffering, or force the legislature’s hand by following the lead of other legal systems. </p>
<p>Courts in Argentina have recognised the legal personhood of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/argentina-judge-says-chimpanzee-poor-conditions-has-rights-and-should-be-freed-zoo-a7402606.html">Cecilia the Chimpanzee</a>, who was detained in similar conditions to Happy. Chucho the Bear, also held in similar conditions, is a legal person too <a href="https://changingtimes.media/2017/08/03/habeas-corpus-victory-for-bear-in-colombia-encourages-animal-rights-lawyers/">thanks to the Columbian Courts</a>. Both were granted habeas corpus relief from their inhumane captivity as a result. </p>
<p>The New York courts will be confronted with this choice again. Happy’s legal team <a href="https://www.nonhumanrights.org/blog/first-department-decision-new-york-elephant-rights-case/">intend to appeal</a>, and in doing so may bring the case into the orbit of a judge more sympathetic to this kind of activism. The last time an animal personhood case (about chimpanzees) reached the more powerful appellate level in New York, <a href="http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2018/May18/M2018-268opn18-Decision.pdf">Judge Fahey</a> noted that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The issue [of] whether a nonhuman animal has a fundamental right to liberty protected by the writ of habeas corpus is profound and far-reaching… Ultimately, we will not be able to ignore it. While it may be arguable that a chimpanzee is not a person, there is no doubt that it is not merely a thing. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If one judge thinks this, then they may not be alone. The New York Court of Appeal may yet acknowledge the elephant in the room and provide a happy ending, with stronger legal rights for non-human animals across the US.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Jowitt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Happy has lived alone in captivity for 14 years, but a New York appeals court recently denied a legal effort to rehome her.
Joshua Jowitt, Lecturer in Law, Newcastle University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/126696
2019-11-12T11:01:50Z
2019-11-12T11:01:50Z
Ice Age footprints of mammoths and prehistoric humans revealed for the first time using radar
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301122/original/file-20191111-194656-43yhyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/columbian-mammoth-herd-winter-sets-mammoths-236426374?src=76c64e75-dbdd-410a-a46b-e16875e89596-1-3">Catmando/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The mammoth lumbers through our imaginations when we think about the world during the most recent Ice Age. They’re just one of many giant creatures that our ancestors lived alongside and which became extinct when the climate changed. The giant ground sloth – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-vqQioKtQU">a large herbivore</a> which was endemic to the Americas – is another.</p>
<p>We can study these extinct animals from their bones – but also from the preserved footprints they left in mud. But these footprints are often hard to find – and while they can tell us about the presence of an animal, they don’t always tell us much about the animal itself, like how it walked, for instance. The giant ground sloth was unusual in that it walked on the outside of its feet. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301096/original/file-20191111-194665-15o6i8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alkali Flat in New Mexico, USA. Ancient footprints of bygone creatures are preserved here.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Robert Bennett</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To help us, we turned to a new method which geologists and archaeologists use to image the hidden subsurface. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQaRfA7yJ0g">Ground penetrating radar</a> was first used during the Vietnam War to reveal bunkers below ground. Today, engineers use it to spot cracks in railway tracks and girders. It works by sending signals into the ground which bounce back to reveal subsurface structures. It can be used for imaging big stuff, including buried walls in ancient ruins, but <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-52996-8">in our new study</a>, we used it to find buried animal tracks from the Ice Age.</p>
<p>Our research team has been working for several years at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm%5D(https://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm">White Sands National Monument</a> in New Mexico in the US where one of the largest collection of vertebrate animal tracks from the Ice Age can be found. These tracks are preserved on a dried lake bed called Alkali Flat. Because they’re so difficult to make out, they’re locally referred to as “ghost tracks”. </p>
<p>Not only were we able to identify and map large tracks made by big animals such as mammoths and giant ground sloths, but to our surprise, we could also see those of the human hunters that stalked those animals. Imaging footprints of Ice Age giants, and their hunters, without excavating the tracks has huge advantages for their conservation. </p>
<p>Much of Alkali Flat is also used by the <a href="https://www.wsmr.army.mil/Pages/home.aspx">White Sands Missile Range</a>, where the American space programme began and the first nuclear bomb was detonated. In places, missile debris litters the ground. Being able to map where most of the tracks are will help prevent them from being erased.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301095/original/file-20191111-194650-olovl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Human footprints from the last Ice Age at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Robert Bennett</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also noticed something interesting beneath the mammoth tracks in the radar data. Below the base of the footprint, we consistently saw something resembling a hook in the radar image. This was completely unexpected. We weren’t sure what this was at first, but suspected that it might be due to the sediment below being compressed by the footprint. If so, this could provide crucial information about the way the animal walked. If this was indeed a pressure record, then it would likely match the pressure record from a close relative, like an elephant.</p>
<p>Foot pressure data for elephants, by the way, are rare – you can imagine how hard it is to get them into the lab and walking on delicate scientific instruments. Thanks to colleagues from <a href="https://www.rvc.ac.uk/">the Royal Veterinary College</a> in London and <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a>, we got our hands on some of this data. The pressure record for elephants turned out to be similar to the hook-like structures revealed in the radar data beneath the mammoth tracks. This led us to conclude that the radar was not only picking out the shape of the footprint, but also giving us much more data on the pressure exerted by the foot on the ground as the mammoth walked. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301136/original/file-20191111-194675-1ugixeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pressure data from the mammoth footprints closely resembled those of modern elephants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Robert Bennett</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For scientists studying the way extinct animals walk, this was very exciting. It’s the equivalent of getting an extinct animal to come into the lab and walk on a force plate. Best of all, the radar imaging allows us to study how these ancient creatures walked without having to disturb the footprint itself. </p>
<p>We think we’ll be able to use the same technique at other sites to image the pressure pattern beneath a dinosaur’s foot, just as if we’d managed to bring a living specimen into the lab. We should also be able to use this technology to map human footprints at other sites, especially where digging could be disruptive. There are famous sites, such as <a href="http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/footprints/laetoli-footprint-trails">Laetoli in Tanzania</a>, where footprints of the oldest human ancestors can be found. We’re not quite there yet, but given the right circumstances, we think it’s possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126696/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Robert Bennett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Scientists have worked out a new way to scan beneath the ground for footprints – and it’s revealing traces of an ancient world.
Matthew Robert Bennett, Professor of Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Bournemouth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/113611
2019-03-20T15:01:56Z
2019-03-20T15:01:56Z
Safari tourism may make elephants more aggressive – but it’s still the best tool for conservation
<p>Going on safari in Africa offers tourists the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth – including African elephants (<em>Loxodonta africana</em>). Known for their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10588-008-9045-z">complex social systems</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3819/ccbr.2009.40009">long memory and high intelligence</a>, this species is also threatened by poaching and shrinking habitats, so further disturbance to their precarious existence could have serious consequences.</p>
<p>Wildlife tourism can help protect these animals and their habitat by generating income for conservation and providing stable work in local economies. Countries such as South Africa and Kenya receive two to five million visitors to protected areas each year, <a href="http://sdt.unwto.org/content/unwto-briefing-wildlife-watching-tourism-africa">generating receipts of up to USD$90m</a>. But as it becomes more popular worldwide, it’s worth remembering that we often don’t know how tourism affects the animals we observe.</p>
<h2>The tourist in the room</h2>
<p>In Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, tourists stay in lodges within the park and go on safari twice a day in large, open vehicles driven by professional field guides.</p>
<p>Over 15 months in Madikwe, we recorded how often elephants performed stress-related, vigilant or aggressive behaviours to find out whether they increased during months when there were more tourists. Vigilant behaviour could be an elephant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321543111">extending its trunk into the air to smell</a>. Stress-related behaviour included elephants <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321543111">bunching together</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2361(2000)19:5%3C425::AID-ZOO11%3E3.0.CO;2-A">fleetingly touching their faces with their trunks</a> – a response akin to a nervous tic in humans. Aggression was noted, for example, if an elephant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-2361(2000)19:5%3C425::AID-ZOO11%3E3.0.CO;2-A">charged at another, spread its ears to appear larger</a> or hit another elephant with its tusk. We also watched the movements of elephant herds to see if they stuck around or moved away from tourist vehicles.</p>
<p>We found that elephants <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.12661">were more likely to be aggressive</a> towards other elephants in months when tourist numbers in the park were high. Elephant herds were also more likely to move away from tourist vehicles when there were more vehicles present.</p>
<p>So, it appears that tourism does have some impact on elephant welfare – but this may not be entirely bad news. We didn’t observe an increase in stressed or vigilant behaviour in response to higher numbers of tourists, and the effect of increased aggression was small. Hunting can have much <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002417">greater effects</a> on elephants, even among those who aren’t attacked by humans. Studies which measured levels of stress hormones in elephants after they witnessed hunts or were nearby have found they increase significantly. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138939">Humans riding on the backs of elephants</a> is also much worse for elephant welfare than observation tours. Wildlife watching, without physical contact, seems to be the better mode of tourism for elephant welfare, but it’s not without its concerns.</p>
<h2>Is tourism the ultimate answer?</h2>
<p>Although these results were interesting, they are only from a single population in South Africa where driving regulations were enforced. We don’t know how elephants are affected in areas where tourists drive their private vehicles on safari unaccompanied by professional guides. We also don’t know what exactly was causing the changes in behaviour. More tourists per month meant there were more vehicles on the roads, but also more air traffic, more diverse smells and sounds and who knows what else.</p>
<p>Parks could create refuge areas where safari tours are restricted and contact with wildlife minimised, perhaps in areas where there are fewer roads already. Tour companies could strictly enforce a no off-roading rule here and prohibit guided walks by tourists. Such refuge areas have previously been shown to have great potential in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0031818">reducing pressure on elephants</a> during times of increased stress, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0003233">such as following large wildfires</a>.</p>
<p>Tourism can be a great conservation tool as long as it is monitored closely, and measures are taken to alleviate the potential pressures it can put on animals. If you’re ever lucky enough to find yourself on a safari, think twice about getting up close and personal with that iconic species. Instead, keep your distance and the welfare of the animals in mind.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isabelle Szott receives funding from AESOP Erasmus Mundus – a European and South African Partnership on Heritage and Past.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola F. Koyama receives funding from Liverpool John Moores University. </span></em></p>
Wildlife tourism is a million dollar industry, but do we know enough about how wildlife feel about tourists in their habitat?
Isabelle Szott, PhD Candidate in Conservation Biology, Liverpool John Moores University
Nicola F. Koyama, Senior Lecturer in Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112432
2019-02-26T14:35:09Z
2019-02-26T14:35:09Z
New survey raises concerns about elephant poaching in Botswana
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260702/original/file-20190225-26156-19rah0j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Botswana has about 122,000 elephants left.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Dexter/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Botswana has an elephant poaching problem. The numbers far exceed previous years according to a <a href="https://elephantswithoutborders.org/research/dr-mike-chase-statement-on-elephant-poaching-in-botswana/">new survey</a>. The survey was conducted between July and October 2018 by conservation group <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org/">Elephants without Borders</a>, in collaboration with Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks. </p>
<p>The survey <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/ewb-response-to-botswana-government-press-release/">reported</a> a total of 1677 observed carcasses in the survey area of northern Botswana. The surveyors visited carcasses that were of concern – reported as possibly poached – which numbered 104 out of a total of 128 “fresh” carcasses.</p>
<p>Dr Mike Chase, who managed the survey, <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org/research/dr-mike-chase-statement-on-elephant-poaching-in-botswana/">wrote</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>of the over 100 carcasses of concern, 90% were confirmed as poached. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the 2014 survey – the last one conducted in the area – no evidence of poaching was found. </p>
<p>Though the number of elephants in Botswana has decreased only slightly since 2014 from 124,584 to 122,797, this <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org/research/expert-reviews-of-2018-botswana-aerial-survey/">evidence</a> of poaching in hotspot areas is deeply concerning. Botswana is home to just under a third of the continent’s remaining Savannah elephant population – <a href="http://www.greatelephantcensus.com">about 415,000</a> – the single largest population by far. </p>
<p>Becoming an increasingly attractive target for poaching would devastate the country’s thriving tourism industry. What’s worrying is that the government – despite the involvement of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in the survey – is blocking the release of the report and is <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org/uncategorized/response-to-press-release-on-botswana-2018-aerial-survey/">questioning</a> its findings. It <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/media-articles/confusion-over-botswanas-elephant-population/">maintains</a> that elephant numbers in the country are too high. </p>
<p>Not all the fresh or recent carcasses are attributable to poaching. A small number reflect death from natural causes. But one of the aims of the report was to verify whether poaching accounted for the sudden increase in fresh carcasses. Poaching can be identified through skull damage and attempts by poachers to cover the carcasses.</p>
<p>The authors of the report identified four regions with high “fresh” or “recent” carcass counts – those of elephants killed within 12 months prior to the survey – and used a helicopter to check 33 ‘fresh’ carcasses suspected of having been poached. All 33 were confirmed as such. The survey team also conducted ground checks for 79 carcasses classified as “old”. 81% were verified as poached.</p>
<p>As the authors note:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>these results suggest that there is a significant elephant-poaching problem in northern Botswana that has likely been going on for over a year. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It doesn’t take long for poaching to take root and become deeply embedded. This can be seen in Tanzania where <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150612-tanzania-environmental-investigation-agency-mary-rice-elephants-poaching-cites-corruption/">60% of its elephants</a> were lost in half a decade. Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve alone lost about 100,000 elephants between 1976 and 2013. </p>
<p>Botswana has to address this problem urgently. Tourism contributes <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201811240322.html">about</a> 11.5% of Botswana’s economy and its <a href="https://saiia.org.za/research/fossil-fuels-are-dead-long-live-fossil-fuels-botswanas-options-for-economic-diversification/">options for economic diversification</a>, after diamond rents start to dwindle, are highly limited. Without wildlife tourism, prospects are bleak.</p>
<h2>The drivers</h2>
<p>So what’s driving the poaching in Botswana?</p>
<p>First, Botswana has become a safe haven for elephants – as it has historically managed its populations exceptionally well. Elephants are smart <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37230700">refugees</a> and move to avoid danger. For instance, because of poaching, there are only about <a href="https://twitter.com/usembassyzambia/status/1002852490180734976">21,000 elephants left</a> in neighbouring Zambia. Angola and Zimbabwe also have poaching problems. This partially accounts for why <a href="http://www.greatelephantcensus.com">such a large number</a> of the continent’s savannah elephants have made their home in Botswana. They escape poaching and hunting elsewhere but also grow from within as reduced stress aids breeding. </p>
<p>But where the elephants go, the poachers follow. </p>
<p>Second, demand for ivory from East Asia remains high, though there is <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/09/wildlife-watch-news-ivory-demand-reduction-china-ban/">some indication</a> of a Chinese slowdown. Strong demand, combined with the growing market for bushmeat, continues <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137456267_10">to drive</a> elephant poaching across African range states. While the Chinese domestic ivory ban is a welcome move in the right direction, <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-ban-on-domestic-ivory-trade-is-huge-but-the-battle-isnt-won-71090">it’s not enough</a>. From a policy perspective, it has to be complementary to demand reduction efforts, not a substitute for them. </p>
<p>Third, since Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi took office in April last year, there have been changes in policy that may threaten elephant populations. Wildlife rangers have had their military-grade weapons <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2018-11-26-protecting-botswanas-elephants-isnt-a-numbers-game/">removed</a>. Masisi has also <a href="https://africasustainableconservation.com/2018/06/01/botswana-masisi-ends-shoot-to-kill-approach-to-conservation/">ended</a> the unofficial “shoot-to-kill” policy favoured by his predecessor, Ian Khama. </p>
<p>These policy changes seem legitimate, as bringing <a href="https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/we-need-to-talk-about-militarisation-of-conservation/">arms into conservation</a> battles – like anti-poaching efforts – has its own problems. </p>
<p>But the more controversial indications of policy shifts are contained in a report <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BotswanaGovernment/photos/a.336021353147196/2087432371339410/?type=3&theater">submitted</a> by a Cabinet sub-committee this month. Botswana’s elephant hunting ban, implemented in 2014 by Khama, is <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/media-articles/botswana-proposes-hunting-and-trade-as-elephant-population-declines/">up for debate</a>. The report advises that the ban be lifted, “regular but limited” culling be introduced, and fences be constructed to reduce human and elephant conflict. While <a href="https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pi-31-GARP-chevallier-harvey-FINAL-WEB.pdf">local communities</a> are key conservation drivers, the solutions proposed here are likely to backfire. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/260737/original/file-20190225-26149-4n34z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nature adapts, so culling isn’t necessary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ross Harvey</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Botswana will have to figure these knotty problems out quickly. Increased poaching and a potential return to hunting risk damaging Botswana’s conservation reputation. This in turn could translate into tourism losses. Vast wilderness landscapes require substantive tourism revenues to be protected. </p>
<p>But protection is not about building fences to keep animals in and people out. Nor can it be achieved through culling –- South Africa has been down that road before and it <a href="https://www.sanparks.org/docs/events/elephants/2004-10-17_DB_Paper_Elephant_Indaba.pdf">cannot be justified</a>. There is plenty of space across the continent where elephants can be relocated, provided there is sufficient protection in place in advance. Besides, in landscapes like the Okavango Delta or Chobe, predators <a href="https://africageographic.com/blog/lions-take-down-first-elephant-of-the-season-in-savuti/">adapt</a> to take down elephants. Nature responds best to high numbers when left to itself. </p>
<p>Conservation success is about addressing the root causes of conflict and poaching and generating more tourism revenue. This is where Botswana has a chance to lead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Harvey works for the South African Institute of International Affairs. The Institute received funding for a CITES-orientated project from Stop Ivory in 2016. </span></em></p>
There is a significant elephant-poaching problem in northern Botswana that has likely been going on for over a year.
Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/102776
2018-09-07T10:01:07Z
2018-09-07T10:01:07Z
Why Botswana is no longer a safe haven for elephants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235364/original/file-20180907-90549-g1j53a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elephants in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this week, global news outlets <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45396394">reported</a> that 90 carcasses of illegally killed elephants had been found around a famous wildlife sanctuary – the Okavango Delta – in Botswana. The elephants appeared to have been killed for their tusks a few weeks ago. </p>
<p>Dr Mike Chase, a scientist who founded and directs <a href="http://elephantswithoutborders.org">Elephants Without Borders</a>, a research and conservation organisation, made the finding while conducting an aerial survey of Botswana’s wildlife. The survey began on 10 July 2018. A <a href="https://africasustainableconservation.com/2018/09/04/botswana-government-denies-87-elephants-dead-the-plot-thickens/">statement</a> by the Botswana government denies the finding, claiming that the number is only 53, with the majority of carcasses suggesting natural death rather than poaching. However, <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2018-09-05-ninety-elephants-massacred-in-botswana-in-what-could-be-africas-worst-mass-poaching/">another article</a> stated that “Botswana Tourism Minister Tshekedi Khama confirmed to AFP that elephants had been poached”. </p>
<p>Chase <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/09/04/its-open-season-for-poachers-nearly-90-elephants-killed-for-tusks-near-botswana-wildlife-sanctuary/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9bdd739e55f3">stated</a>: “When I compare this to figures and data from the Great Elephant Census, which I conducted in 2015, we are recording double the number of fresh poached elephants than anywhere else in Africa.” </p>
<p>Carcasses are recorded as “fresh” if they can be dated within three months of identification. The skulls had been chopped for tusk removal on the carcasses discovered during the survey. This is evidence of poaching. </p>
<p>Three years ago Elephants Without Borders conducted the <a href="http://www.greatelephantcensus.com/final-report/">Great Elephant Census</a>. It recorded 352,271 African savanna elephants in 18 range states (excluding Namibia). The scientific <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/2354/">report</a> about the census, which Chase coauthored, found that the population had declined by nearly a third between 2007 and 2014. </p>
<p>Botswana <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2015/07/23/no-longer-at-ease-clouds-on-the-horizon-for-botswanas-conservation-success-story-by-keith-somerville/">has been</a> an unparalleled conservation success story. The census estimated that Botswana had 130,451 elephants, the highest density on the continent (1.28 per km2), amounting to about 37% of the total savanna population. It also had the lowest carcass ratio (6.9%) - percentage of dead elephants observed during the count - among high-population range states. Tanzania, by contrast, with vast wilderness areas, only had an estimated 42,871 elephants left in 2015 and a carcass ratio of 26.4%. It reportedly <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150612-tanzania-environmental-investigation-agency-mary-rice-elephants-poaching-cites-corruption/">lost</a> 60% of its elephants from 2010 to 2014. </p>
<p>At the time of the census, southern Africa was recognised as having the lowest poaching rates (except for Angola). And until now Botswana has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a wildlife haven. It employed an unofficial <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/09/04/its-open-season-for-poachers-nearly-90-elephants-killed-for-tusks-near-botswana-wildlife-sanctuary/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9bdd739e55f3">“shoot to kill”</a> policy against poaching. The Botswana Defence Force also played an important supportive role for wildlife authorities. It also helped that, for a long time, it had a president – Ian Khama – who was an avid wildlife protector. </p>
<p>Khama stepped down in April, replaced by Mokgweetsi Masisi. A month later, the government disarmed the Department of Wildlife and National Parks anti-poaching unit. While Chase attributes the poaching uptick to this disarmament, the Botswana government has <a href="https://africasustainableconservation.com/2018/09/04/botswana-government-denies-87-elephants-dead-the-plot-thickens/">stated</a> that its move was “in line with existing legislation which does not allow the department to own such weapons”. </p>
<h2>The causes</h2>
<p>There have been <a href="https://africanarguments.org/2015/07/23/no-longer-at-ease-clouds-on-the-horizon-for-botswanas-conservation-success-story-by-keith-somerville/">warnings</a> for some time that the poaching tide would move towards Botswana. Chase was sure that the country was well prepared but is now shocked at seeing the volume of fresh carcasses.</p>
<p>Disarmament is probably an important causal factor behind the recent sharp increase in elephant poaching. Poachers follow routes of least resistance. Disarmament likely removed a previously strong deterrent. But it is only one of many factors. </p>
<p>The major cause is a pure function of density. Elephants are <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-elephants-unique-brain-structures-suggest-about-their-mental-abilities-100421">incredibly intelligent </a>and migrate to where they are safest. Persecuted over decades across weakly governed range states in southern Africa, they found <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37230700">refuge</a> in Botswana.</p>
<p>I believe that it was therefore only a matter of time until poaching efforts moved in. Scarcity elsewhere meant high effort and low reward for poachers. Botswana beckoned with a promise of low effort and high reward.</p>
<p>Disarming and removing anti-poaching equipment from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks anti-poaching unit created the gap that poachers had been waiting for. It appears as if Botswana’s governing authorities may have underestimated the force of the poaching river.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/saia_sop_219_harvey_20150806.pdf">2015 paper</a> I modelled elephant conservation as a “river crossing” game. To cross the river (save elephants) successfully, conservationists had to accomplish three things - eradicate global demand, disrupt poaching and trafficking networks, and ban domestic ivory trade where it still occurs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-ban-on-domestic-ivory-trade-is-huge-but-the-battle-isnt-won-71090">China's ban on domestic ivory trade is huge, but the battle isn't won</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>I concluded that conservation capital would be best spent on reducing demand and on anti-poaching efforts. Domestic trade bans would become efficient if the first two strategies were realised first. </p>
<p>Reducing demand requires serious efforts to shift consumption dynamics. This isn’t impossible, but needs lots of resources. </p>
<p>Effectively defeating poaching is the most difficult because capabilities for anti-poaching and law enforcement differ from state to state. States often also have <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/research/ivory-sales-by-zimbabwe-and-namibia-could-create-demand-spike/">contradictory ideas</a> about what will work best. </p>
<p>Another key factor is that, ultimately, <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/saia_sop_243_chevallierharvey_20160920.pdf">communities</a> living on the front line of elephant conservation need to have skin in the game and derive <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/OP-241-GARP-orr-FINAL-WEB.pdf">extensive benefits</a> from wildlife tourism if poaching is to be crowded out.</p>
<p>Apart from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw168">devastating conservation implications</a> of elephant poaching, Botswana has an enormous amount to lose if its elephant populations dwindle further. Tourism is <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/saia_rpt_20_harvey_20150828.pdf">the second biggest foreign exchange earner</a> after diamonds. But this is about more than protecting one country’s tourism sector. It’s about collective action from all range states to protect elephants and other endangered species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102776/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Harvey works for the South African Institute of International Affairs, a think-tank that has received funding in the past for specific wildlife research projects from Stop Ivory and the Humane Society International.</span></em></p>
Botswana has been an unparalleled elephant conservation success story. That seems to be changing.
Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/100901
2018-08-06T12:09:27Z
2018-08-06T12:09:27Z
A gigantic trek: what it takes to move 200 elephants 1500 km
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230552/original/file-20180803-41366-8x4waf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An elephant successfully translocated by SAN Parks from Kruger National Park to Addo Elephant National Park.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The translocation of wild animals is becoming an increasingly important conservation strategy and is happening more and more frequently <a href="http://www.iucnsscrsg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192&Itemid=587">around the world</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.australianwildlife.org/">Australian Wildlife Conservancy</a> has translocated 20 species (13 of them threatened) to its reserves around Australia. Similarly, the Conservation Land Trust in Argentina has translocated <a href="http://www.proyectoibera.org/en/english/index.htm">a suite of native mammals</a> including the giant anteater, tapir and jaguar to restore the Iberá Wetlands in Corrientes Province. The Red Squirrels Trust Wales is <a href="http://www.redsquirrels.info">restoring the Ogwen Valley</a> by eradicating invasive grey squirrels, and translocating native red squirrels and pine marten.</p>
<p>Translocations have become more frequent in Africa, too; elephants are the biggest animals to be moved. In places where species have historically been wiped out, but where managers have now removed the causes of those declines, translocation is an important tool.</p>
<p>One of the biggest elephant translocations ever undertaken is underway as part of an attempt to rebuild Mozambique’s elephant population. The global mining company, De Beers Group, in partnership with with <a href="http://www.peaceparks.org/news.php?pid=1696&mid=1782">Peace Parks Foundation</a>, has initiated a project to move 200 from their nature reserve in northern South Africa to <a href="http://www.debeersgroup.com/en/news/company-news/company-news/de-beers-group-to-move-200-elephants-from-south-africa-to-mozamb.html">Zinave National Park in Mozambique</a> – a distance of 1500 km. The process has already started. The animals will be moved in safe batches over the course of a 2-year project, the plan being to have all elephants moved by the end of next year’s translocation season.</p>
<h2>How it’s done</h2>
<p>The movement of elephants is a major mission. </p>
<p>First, helicopters are used to direct herds of elephants to a capture area so they can be darted from the air. The elephants’ legs are bound by strong, soft tethers capable of supporting several tonnes of animal. A crane attached to the loading trucks then lifts each animal and lowers them gently into crates. The elephants remain immobilised and ‘sleeping’ as it were, are then woken before they start their long journey to their new home.</p>
<p>For 200 elephants, this sounds like a monumental task. But South African conservation managers have vast experience with wildlife restoration projects on this scale. As long ago as 1979, 6000 animals (including elephants) were reintroduced into the newly established <a href="http://www.nature-reserve.co.za/operation-genesis.html">Pilanesberg National Park</a>. In 1991, Madikwe Game Reserve took the title of the world’s biggest translocation when 8000 individuals from 28 different species, including elephants, <a href="https://www.madikwegamereserve.co.za/about/operation-phoenix/">were translocated</a>.</p>
<p>Expertise is critical with translocations because they can go horribly wrong. For example, a Kenyan Wildlife Service translocation of 11 black rhinos this year led to 10 dying because the water at the translocation site was <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/07/10-of-11-black-rhinos-now-dead-after-relocation-attempt-in-kenya-takes-tragic-turn/">too salty</a>.</p>
<p>Lessons have also been learnt over the years. The elephants translocated to Pilanesberg were youngsters orphaned following culling in Kruger National Park. These youngsters grew up in the absence of adults and the unruly males ended up attacking and killing rhinos. Once adults were returned to Pilanesberg (and the offending elephants were removed), this aberrant behaviour ceased. Now entire herds are translocated, including adult bulls. </p>
<h2>Need for relocation</h2>
<p>Rampant poaching has afflicted Africa’s elephant populations over the past <a href="http://www.traffic.org/elephants-ivory">8 to 10 years</a>. Some poaching happens in South Africa, but elephant populations in the country are generally well managed and protected. Some populations have even increased beyond <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/2983">carrying capacity</a>. For example, the reserve in Limpopo that’s home to the elephants being moved to Mozambique can carry 60 elephants but has a population of 270. </p>
<p>For decades elephant populations in South Africa’s Kruger National Park were held in check <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/2983">by culling</a>. Rangers would shoot entire herds to keep numbers in check, and mobile abattoirs would fleece the carcass and give or sell the meat and products. But this was stopped <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/2983">in the 1990s</a>.</p>
<p>Since then the elephant population in Kruger has more than doubled and there are concerns that they are damaging the park’s vegetation to such an extent that other wildlife species are <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/handle/10204/2983">going extinct</a>.</p>
<p>Translocation has been increasingly used to manage this growth in numbers – not just in Kruger but in reserves across the country. Until recently, elephants were moved to establish new populations elsewhere in South Africa. But this option has started to run out because almost all reserves are now well stocked. As a result, South African conservation managers have begun to look elsewhere. </p>
<p>Mozambique’s elephant population was decimated during decades <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00306.x">of civil war</a>. With the return of peace, and better governance and security, wildlife populations can be restored in a number of different places. Because elephants are such slow breeders, populations in Mozambique have not returned to their previous levels. As a result, translocation and dropping the fences between Kruger in South Africa and Parque Nacional do Limpopo in Mozambique are being implemented. </p>
<h2>Translocation for the future</h2>
<p>With the swathes of free space in the world and the improved ability to manage threats to species, translocations should become more common as a way to reverse the wildlife declines humans have caused. </p>
<p>But government conservation agencies don’t take part in translocations as much as they should because they’re risky operations. It’s time governments reviewed their approach to active and innovative conservation interventions and show that they’re prepared to take risks to improve the bleak plight of the world’s biodiversity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Hayward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Translocations have become more frequent in Africa. Elephants are the biggest animals to be moved.
Matt Hayward, Associate professor, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/94766
2018-04-12T14:11:39Z
2018-04-12T14:11:39Z
How Grace Mugabe poaching claims benefit Zimbabwe’s new president
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214274/original/file-20180411-570-6e4pb3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zimbabwe's former first lady Grace Mugabe is being investigated.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trong Khiem Nguyen/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The headline on the <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/police-tighten-noose-on-grace-mugabe/">Zimbabwe Herald</a> could not have made it clearer: “Police tighten noose on Grace Mugabe.” </p>
<p>The newspaper, for 37 years the mouthpiece of Robert Mugabe’s government, is now the voice of the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. He replaced Mugabe when the long-time leader was <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-a-mnangagwa-presidency-would-not-be-a-new-beginning-for-zimbabwe-87641">deposed</a> in late 2017. Over the last couple of months the Herald and a number of other Zimbabwean media outlets have published detailed accounts on police investigations into former first lady Grace Mugabe’s suspected role in ivory smuggling.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-125665.html">first of these stories</a>, less than two months after Mnangagwa took office, said the former first lady was being investigated for “illicit and illegal activities”. Information said to have come from the very top of Mnangagwa’s government implicated the former first lady in an organised crime ring “responsible for the poisoning of hundreds of jumbos in the country”. She was also accused of illicitly obtaining ivory from legal government stocks and either illegally selling it or exporting it as gifts for high profile foreign allies.</p>
<p>Zimbabwe is one of the key elephant range states and home to Africa’s second largest estimated elephant population <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/zimbabwe-national-elephant-management-plan-2015-2020/">of nearly</a> 83,000 individuals, following Botswana. Though there are high elephant numbers, alarms have been raised over poaching in the country including the use of cyanide poison to kill large numbers of them. The first reported case of this was in 2013 when a single massacre of over 100 elephants happened at Hwange National Park. Since then it has become a <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201802130838.html">common means</a> of poaching throughout the country’s protected areas.</p>
<p>As more and more evidence has been leaked to the press, the government’s intention to prosecute her for ivory and rhino horn smuggling has become clear. If she has been involved in illegal wildlife trading and has links to poaching, then she should be prosecuted and, if found guilty, punished. But this is also all incredibly useful for the new president who stands to benefit politically from these investigations. </p>
<h2>Politically useful</h2>
<p>Mnangagwa needs to embed himself in power as presidential and parliamentary elections are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/18/zimbabwe-president-pledges-free-and-fair-vote-in-four-to-five-months">due to be held</a> later this year. For this, he needs to ensure the unity of ZANU-PF – Zimbabwe’s ruling party since independence – and root out any pockets of pro-Grace supporters. </p>
<p>Grace Mugabe was his major rival to succeed President Mugabe and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/15/mugabe-family-military-takes-control-zimbabwe-mnangagwa">acted with</a> her husband’s support to sack Mnangagwa as Vice-President in 2017. This led to a military backed coup which forced the Mugabes to step down and saw Mnangagwa elected leader by ZANU-PF. </p>
<p>Though Grace Mugabe lacks the party’s majority support, she does have backing from a group of younger ministers and party officials known as <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201502230426.html">Generation 40</a>. If she is found guilty of these crimes, she could end up in prison and so politically neutralised. Also, by pursuing her on ivory and rhino horn smuggling charges, Mnangagwa averts accusations of political vindictiveness. </p>
<p>The move to pursue Grace Mugabe also wins the new leader international favour. Far from being criticised for oppressing political opponents, Mnangagwa would be praised for making a stand in the protection of elephants and rhinos – which, today, has huge <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/uniting-against-the-illegal-ivory-trade">global</a> concern. Between 2007 and 2014, the African elephant population <a href="http://www.greatelephantcensus.com/final-report/">declined by</a> 144,000 animals.</p>
<p>The government may also be attempting to put a lid on past <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/zimbabwe-crocodile-who-would-be-king">accusations</a> against Mnangagwa, who was said to be the godfather of rhino horn smuggling operations. Partly through his role as Mugabe’s director of intelligence, he was accused of being involved with supplying horns to Chinese buyers nearly a decade ago. But before any judicial hearings or convictions, the police docket, in the hands of then Attorney General Johannes Tomana, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/zimbabwe-crocodile-who-would-be-king">disappeared.</a></p>
<h2>Conservation drive</h2>
<p>Within a month of coming into power, the stress on conservation became part of the new government’s narrative, creating a discourse which places Mnangagwa as a conservation stalwart and Grace Mugabe as a corrupt ivory smuggler.</p>
<p><a href="https://zimetro.com/president-mnangagwas-daughter-tariro-joins-anti-poaching-unit/">Media</a> trumpeted news that Mnangagwa’s youngest daughter, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2017/dec/17/all-female-anti-poaching-combat-unit-in-pictures">Tariro</a>, had joined a group of young female rangers dedicated to fighting poaching in the Zambezi valley. </p>
<p>Mnangagwa was also quick to announce <a href="http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/zimbabwe-president-banned-live-export-of-elephants/">the stop</a> of live elephant exports – a trade that had been <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-zimbabwes-use-of-elephants-to-pay-off-old-debt-to-china-is-problematic-70873">directly pinned</a> to Grace Mugabe. </p>
<p>Now, there are clear signals that the government is amassing evidence to make a stand against poaching and prosecute Grace Mugabe. Mnangagwa’s special advisor, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/police-tighten-noose-on-grace-mugabe/">summed up</a> the case:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We received a report from a whistleblower…Police and the whistleblowers laid a trap for suppliers believed to be working for Grace Mugabe. The culprits were caught and that is how the investigations started. When we were confronted with so much evidence, there was no way we could ignore; we had to act.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If the allegations are true, then her actions are against CITES trade regulations, which bans the international trade in ivory. Zimbabwean law also outlaws poaching and the trade in ivory from poached elephants. It is also illegal, without a certified permit that meets CITES conditions, to remove ivory from the legal government stockpile for export and sale. </p>
<p>This is the first legal action against the Mugabe dynasty since Mnangagwa was elected president and appeared to allow the Mugabes a graceful exit. It could become a major political victory for the new Zimbabwean president, sanctioned by law and bolstering his international reputation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Somerville does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
If the allegations are true Zimbabwe intends to prosecute Grace Mugabe for ivory and rhino horn smuggling.
Keith Somerville, Visiting Professor, University of Kent
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93749
2018-03-27T19:08:24Z
2018-03-27T19:08:24Z
Africa’s great migrations are failing but there is a solution - and you can eat it too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212145/original/file-20180327-188619-hgwow8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Wildebeeste, or Gnu</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wildebeeste_(3688065376).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Until I went to southern Africa last year, I couldn’t imagine an African savanna without its awe-inspiring migrations. But Africa’s plains are increasingly empty of wildlife. My <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0262407917324089?via%3Dihub">subsequent investigation</a> showed that fences are marching across the savannas instead. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229077017_Global_decline_in_aggregated_migrations_of_large_terrestrial_mammals">An audit of 24 large mammal species</a>, which used to migrate regularly, showed that many migrations are already extinct. Fences stopped animals in their tracks, often within sight of the food and water that would sustain them. These fences had severed historically massive migrations. Millions of wild animals – wildebeest, zebra, hartebeest, springbok and many others – have likely died of thirst or hunger since the 1950s.</p>
<p>It’s a huge problem, yet it has received little attention. In Kenya, fences form clusters and virtual battle lines, threatening the collapse of the entire <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep41450">Greater-Mara ecosystem</a>. A recent <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6374/466">global study</a> of 57 species of moving mammals shows that the future of the planet’s most spectacular natural events is on the cusp. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-smart-agricultural-development-is-needed-in-africas-savannas-47941">Why smart agricultural development is needed in Africa’s savannas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A land divided</h2>
<p>Botswana is one of the last great places on earth for free-ranging wildlife. Here, fences erected to protect European beef producers from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) slice the country into 17 “islands”. </p>
<p>Fencing is expensive – especially fencing strong enough to keep out migrating animals – and it favours only a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228847697_Barriers_the_Beef_Industry_and_Unnatural_Selection_A_Review_of_the_Impact_of_Veterinary_Fencing_on_Mammals_in_Southern_Africa">small proportion</a> of cattle owners, locking local livestock farmers out of the export industry. To make matters worse, this comes as wildlife-based tourism is overtaking livestock as a proportion of GDP in countries like Botswana. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211469/original/file-20180322-165547-1hdzqf7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An elephant, behind one of the high double layered veterinary fences used in Botswana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">M. Atkinson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With colonial-era subsidies of the fencing system gone, what’s left is a lose-lose system that hinders local farmers, tourism and sustainability. Many savanna landscapes are now conflict zones between local people and wildlife. </p>
<p>Against this bleak backdrop, a rare good news story has emerged, driven by myth-busting science and patient advocacy. It turns out that wildlife does not play a significant role in the transmission foot-and-mouth disease, apart from the <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.7589/2012-11-276">African buffalo</a>; ironically it is more likely to be spread by cattle. Many areas, like the Kalahari, have no cattle or buffalo – so the fences in those areas serve no disease control purpose.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605310000414">Careful scientific sleuthing</a> is showing that migrations restart when these fences are removed. The longest animal migration ever recorded, of zebras across Botswana, resumed a few years ago after just a portion of fence was removed.</p>
<h2>Process over place</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most important breakthrough has been a relatively new scientific approach called <a href="http://www.oneworldonehealth.org/sept2004/owoh_sept04.html">One Health</a>. One Health is a problem-solving strategy that tackles issues at the interface of wildlife, domestic animal and human health. A monumental effort by veterinarians and other scientists, working with communities and animal health organisations, has teased out a solution. Instead of looking at livestock’s geographic origin, it looks at the meat production process itself – from farm to fork – through a food safety lens. </p>
<p>This approach was initially developed for <a href="https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/foodlaw/overview/introhaccp">astronauts</a> in the 1960s to avoid illness from contaminated food. It is now used throughout the food industry, from growing vegetables, to canning fruit and processing meat. For beef, it means that even in foot-and-mouth zones, a combination of vaccination, veterinary surveillance, and standardised meat preparation ensures disease-free, wildlife-friendly beef.</p>
<p>But it is one thing to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tbed.12164">have the solution</a>, and quite another to convince policy makers to implement it. The focus of the One Health team soon turned to policy and advocacy. After years of research and dialogue between sectors that rarely sat at the same table, in 2012 the Southern African Development Community (SADC) issued The <a href="http://www.wcs-ahead.org/phakalane_declaration.html">Phakalane Declaration</a> on Adoption of Non-Geographic Approaches for Management of Foot and Mouth Disease. </p>
<p>Put simply, these new “non-geographic approaches” are not reliant on fencing.</p>
<h2>Policy into practice</h2>
<p>This consensus statement from southern African animal health experts was a shot heard ‘round the world. A genuine policy breakthrough finally came in 2015, in Paris, where the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) rewrote the Terrestrial Animal Health Code to allow for international trade of fresh meat from countries or zones with foot-and-mouth disease. </p>
<p>Since then, Ngamiland, home to world-renowned wildlife and the recently World Heritage-listed Okavango Delta, committed <a href="http://www.wcs-ahead.org/dvs_ahead_maun_workshop_2017/180110_cbt_wksp_proceedings_ngamiland_final.pdf">late last year</a> to reassessing its fences with wildlife-friendly beef and wildlife concerns in mind. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212141/original/file-20180327-188619-1m6c7sp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Okavango Delta, Botswana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Okavango_delta_-_Botswana_-_panoramio_(3).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Botswana is also at the centre of the <a href="http://kavangozambezi.org/index.php/en/">Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area</a> which spans parts of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is home to the world’s largest remaining population of elephants. The Animal and Human Health for the Environment And Development (<a href="http://wcs-ahead.org">AHEAD</a>) program, based at <a href="https://research.cornell.edu/news-features/cattle-conservation-collaboration">Cornell University</a>, have been working with local partners to resolve FMD-related conflicts in the <a href="http://www.fao.org/africa/news/detail-news/en/c/452396/">largest peace park in Africa</a>. Meanwhile, non-fence solutions were at the forefront of a recent multi-country <a href="http://www.wcs-ahead.org/kaza_ahead_fao_workshop_2016/kaza_ahead_fao_workshop_2016.html">summit</a> in late 2016. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-stand-tall-for-imperilled-giraffes-70254">It's time to stand tall for imperilled giraffes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The new meat processing-focused approach seems like common sense but, after generations of conflict, it is bold and brave. Botswana, leading the charge, is now on the cusp of redeeming itself in the eyes of conservationists after 70 years of fence-related wildlife deaths. </p>
<p>Now, not only can this new way forward allow wildlife to rebound, but a regional economy benefiting from both wildlife and livestock can do the same - if policy-makers can indeed move - beyond fences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93749/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny van Oosterzee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Africa’s famous animal migrations are increasingly blocked by fences, erected by farmers to keep their livestock safe from disease. But a new approach aims to deliver healthy beef and healthy wildlife.
Penny van Oosterzee, Adjunct Associate Professor James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/93676
2018-03-22T15:27:03Z
2018-03-22T15:27:03Z
Paradigm shift as African countries throw their weight behind ivory ban
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211299/original/file-20180321-165574-1pjsfoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Antique ivory -- defined as pre-1947 worked ivory -- is an exception and can be traded in the UK and EU.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/James Picht</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Calls from conservation groups for a strong line and a near total ban on the sale of ivory were strengthened last week when 32 African nations <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-03-african-leaders-eu-ivory.html">stood as one</a> to demand an end to trade in ivory in Britain and the European Union. </p>
<p>Their intervention in the debate is welcome. </p>
<p>There has been considerable concern over the ivory trade, and the damage caused to Africa’s wild elephant population, on the part of countries who have historically been consumers of ivory goods. Elephant populations <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-african-elephants-population-decrease-great-elephant-census">have declined</a> from 1.3 million in 1979 to 352,000 today. But elephant range states – including Botswana, Kenya and South Africa – have been slow to point the finger of blame at their old colonial masters. </p>
<p>In taking the lead African countries are showing two things: that they see the illegal wildlife trade as a global issue. And that they aren’t afraid to say so. </p>
<p>This new stance is exactly what wildlife campaigners have wanted to see. In putting African demands for change by the EU central to the ivory trade debate we are witnessing a shift in paradigm that could do more for elephant conservation than a host of international conferences. The message from Botswana’s President Ian Khama message <a href="http://www.ann7.com/african-leaders-call-on-eu-to-shut-ivory-trade/">was</a> loud and clear: shut your ivory markets and stop fuelling the poaching of our elephants.</p>
<h2>Desire for ivory</h2>
<p>Those of us who work in and study the nature and effect of the ivory trade appreciate that it is a complex problem and one that demands a multi-dimensional solution. Millions of dollars <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/23/world/africa/us-pours-millions-into-fighting-poachers-in-south-africa.html">have been</a> spent on education and community programmes in Africa in an attempt to solve the poaching problem. </p>
<p>But that does not address the issue that Khama and his fellow leaders pointed to last Friday –- the continuing desire for ivory in the West and Far East. The EU, for example, is the largest exporter of legal ivory. CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) trade data shows that the amount of commercial worked ivory exported legally between 2012 and 2016 <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/background-ivory-trade-in-EU_en.pd">amounted</a> to an average of 7,500 items and 121 kg each year. </p>
<p>Khama was not shirking his continent’s responsibility in dealing with the trade in newly poached ivory. But he was highlighting the fact that the EU was fuelling the illegal trade through its continuing sale of legal ivory items. These are ivory artefacts exported to EU member states before elephants were internationally protected under the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Convention-on-International-Trade-in-Endangered-Species">CITES Convention</a> in 1975. </p>
<p><a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/pdf/guidance_ivory.pd">Current</a> EU rules mean that these older ivory items can be traded within the EU and re-exported from the EU, as long as sellers have the correct certification. It’s a similar case for the UK. It is legal to buy and sell ivory in the UK so long as they have the correct CITES certification. The most common <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1372/contents/mad">exception</a> is with regards to the sale of antique ivory – defined as pre-1947 worked ivory. This means the elephant the ivory came from was killed before 1947 and that any carving or working to the item took place before this date as well.</p>
<p>183 states are signatories to CITES. This bans the commercial international trade in species listed on Appendix I, under which <a href="https://www.cites.org/eng/gallery/species/mammal/african_elephant.html">most</a> African elephants fall. Nevertheless, ivory can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323445831_Conserving_elephants_depend_on_a_total_ban_of_ivory_trade_globally">still be</a> sold legally in several European and Asian countries. And, there is evidence that signatories are failing to comply with the regulations. One <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/10/japans-blind-eye-fuelling-illegal-ivory-trade-as-demand-rises-study-find">notable</a> example is Japan. Although Japan signed the 1989 convention banning the global trade in ivory, it has been alleged that Japanese sellers are registering tusks that are of undetermined origin. </p>
<h2>New legislation</h2>
<p>The EU and the UK now have the opportunity to end their historic links to the ivory trade. Though the law is yet to be signed, the British environment secretary <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43620012">has said</a> that the sale of ivory of any age, with limited exceptions, will be banned in an effort to reduce elephant poaching. This follows <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/banning-uk-sales-of-ivory">consultations</a> which ended in December 2017. </p>
<p>When Khama announced last Friday that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can’t say more than say to the UK… just do the right thing, close the ivory trade</p>
</blockquote>
<p>his demands for action were well timed. Both the EU and UK are due shortly to announce the outcomes of their respective public consultations on the ivory trade both of which ended in December 2017 . By working together they have tackled a target that would otherwise be too big and too powerful to face alone. Africa has put the solution to the elephant crisis squarely on Europe.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Cox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The EU and UK are fuelling the illegal trade through their continuing sale of legal ivory items.
Caroline Cox, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Portsmouth
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/81149
2017-08-01T17:58:42Z
2017-08-01T17:58:42Z
What camera traps tell us about elephants eating crops
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179317/original/file-20170723-28465-536uzm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Southern Tanzania Elephant Program used camera traps to capture elephant visits to farmland.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">STEP/Author supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An important conservation goal is to try and ensure that people and wildlife can coexist. This is especially important when it comes to elephants, whose large home ranges and long distance movements take them outside of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-3008.2000.00092.x/full">protected areas</a>.</p>
<p>One of the major challenges to coexistence is the use of food crops by elephants. This threatens the <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/human_elephant_conflict.cfm">livelihoods, food security</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320712003345">well-being</a> of rural communities. Elephant forays into farmland sometimes results in <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Hoare/publication/278051645_Lessons_from_15_years_of_human-elephant_conflict_mitigation_Management_considerations_involving_biological_physical_and_governance_issues_in_Africa/links/557bde4808aeea18b7751990/Lessons-from-15-years-of-human-elephant-conflict-mitigation-Management-considerations-involving-biological-physical-and-governance-issues-in-Africa.pdf">retaliatory and legal killings under the Problem Animal Control laws</a> and erosion of support for elephant conservation efforts.</p>
<p>For people and elephants to thrive in the long-term, it’s important to find ways to mitigate the impact of the animal on people’s lives and livelihoods, and vice versa. To find effective solutions, we need to understand why elephants eat crops rather than fodder from the bush and how they learn about crops as a source of food.</p>
<p>To explore these questions our team at the <a href="http://www.stzelephants.org/">Southern Tanzania Elephant Program</a> used camera traps to capture elephant <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/using-camera-traps-to-study-the-agesex-structure-and-behaviour-of-cropusing-elephants-loxodonta-africana-in-udzungwa-mountains-national-park-tanzania/AAB225F1915E73FAF278B8B2F5BA7E56">visits to farmland</a>. The cameras were set up in an area adjacent to the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Tanzania between 2010 and 2014. </p>
<p>We placed camera traps on elephant trails on the National Park boundary to photograph elephants as they travelled in and out of neighbouring farmland. We then studied the camera trap photos to identify individual elephants from key distinguishing features like ears and tusks.</p>
<h2>High-risk, high-reward</h2>
<p>All the elephants photographed by our camera traps were males. This is consistent with <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/22/3/552/269150/No-risk-no-gain-effects-of-crop-raiding-and">previous studies</a> suggesting that eating crops is a high risk, high reward feeding strategy for males. Females have been <a href="https://anotherbobsmith.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/smith_kasiki_00_hec.pdf">documented</a> to feed on crops, but they are generally less likely to visit farms because of the risks involved to their young.</p>
<p>Age also plays a role. Our study, as well as previous studies in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031382">Amboseli, Kenya</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2005.00577.x/full">Kibale, Uganda</a> found that eating crops appears related to specific <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031382">milestones</a> in a male elephant’s life. </p>
<p>Two particular milestones stood out: the start of reproduction in bulls when they reach the ages of between 20-30 years, and their reproductive peak years in their 40s. When males reach these milestones, they are more willing to take risks and have increased energetic demands. Crops are an attractive source of food for males seeking to maximise their <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/22/3/552/269150/No-risk-no-gain-effects-of-crop-raiding-and">body size and reproductive success</a>. </p>
<p>How do males learn about crops as a food source? In Udzungwa, we found that young bulls aged 10-14 years visited farms. This is the age when males typically leave their maternal family groups, so they may be discovering farms during the process. It’s also possible that they learn about crops from older elephants. <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0031382">Researchers in Amboseli</a> found that young bulls learnt about crops from older bulls and that male social networks shaped behaviour.</p>
<h2>How many eat crops?</h2>
<p>Some <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.01967.x/full">studies</a> have investigated how many bulls eat crops, and how their feeding habits vary. In Udzungwa we identified 48 different elephants from our camera trap photos. With so many bulls visiting the farmland in our study site, we couldn’t attribute the crop damage to just a few habitual males. </p>
<p>We also found that the frequency of visits varied between individual bulls. Two-thirds were seen only once over the four-year study period, suggesting that these bulls visit farms infrequently. One-third of the bulls were seen multiple times and 18% more than twice over the study period. These males may be using crops more regularly. But even among these repeat offenders, males varied considerably in how often they visited farms. </p>
<p>In Kenya by comparison, researchers estimated that 12% of Amboseli bulls and 21% of bulls from the wider Amboseli, Kilimanjaro and Tsavo-Chyulu populations <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.01967.x/full">were repeat crop eaters</a>. Combined, this evidence suggests that the majority of bulls occasionally use crops, while a small proportion may use them more frequently. </p>
<h2>Strategies</h2>
<p>Strategies to reduce crop losses to elephants should consider that most bulls consume crops infrequently. So, killing elephants for eating crops is unlikely to significantly reduce crop loss. Taking lethal action is also costly, for it affects those older bulls who are more likely to be eating crops. Killing these older bulls removes a crucial source of <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151017-zimbabwe-elephant-tusker-trophy-hunting-poaching-conservation-africa-ivory-trade/">ecological knowledge as well as important breeding individuals</a>. This is particularly damaging to elephant populations already under threat from ivory poaching. </p>
<p>There are much better non-lethal options for reducing crop losses to elephants. These include <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12898/full">beehive fences</a> and land use planning which involves carefully assessing land for the best possible use. These approaches require strong commitment, community buy-in and creativity. But, as we’ve found in our <a href="http://www.stzelephants.org/projects/human-elephants-co-existence/">work</a> in Tanzania, they offer promising avenues for improving the chances of farmers and elephants being able to coexist.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81149/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josephine B. Smit and co-authors received funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Idea Wild, Yale University's Summer Environmental Fellowship, and Richter Summer Fellowship to conduct the study described in the article. She is a PhD student at the University of Stirling and works for Southern Tanzania Elephant Program.</span></em></p>
Elephants feeding on crops poses a challenge to their coexistence with humans. Farmers must introduce strategies to reduce losses and avoid lethal action against the endangered species.
Josephine B. Smit, PhD Candidate, University of Stirling
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77486
2017-05-17T19:27:02Z
2017-05-17T19:27:02Z
The Hirola is the world’s rarest antelope. Here’s how it can be saved
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/169307/original/file-20170515-6990-112ptdw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Hirola has a global population size of 500.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Abdullahi H. Ali</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6234/0">Hirola</a>, endemic to north-east Kenya and south-west Somalia, is the world’s most endangered antelope. It faces huge survival challenges but all is not lost. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Abdullahi Ali about his research and what he thinks can be done to save this rare species.</em></p>
<p><strong>What is a hirola, where is it found and how many are there?</strong></p>
<p>The hirola is a rare medium size antelope that can weigh up to 118kg. It’s tawny or tan brown in colour and has long, sharp horns. </p>
<p>The current population of the hirola is estimated at less than 500. This small population is found within its native range, restricted to communal lands along the Kenya-Somalia border with no formal protection. The highest numbers are in Ijara and Garissa County, Kenya. </p>
<p>The hirola is the only surviving member of the genus <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6234/0">Beatragus</a> and there are none in captivity. </p>
<p><strong>The hirola is known as the “world’s most endangered antelope”. What factors caused this?</strong></p>
<p>With a global population size of 500, the hirola is <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12856/full">considered</a> to be the world’s most endangered antelope. This is <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/div-classtitlepopulation-and-habitat-assessment-of-the-critically-endangered-hirola-span-classitalicbeatragus-hunterispan-in-tsavo-east-national-park-kenyadiv/E98E178901F73C5C16066762CBECBC9F">the smallest</a> known number of an antelope species and its population has been reducing rapidly since the 1970s.</p>
<p>Several factors caused this. <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.5896&rep=rep1&type=pdf">In the 1980s</a>, rinderpest – a viral disease – <a href="http://coastalforests.tfcg.org/pubs/Hirola%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf">killed</a> about 85-90% <a href="http://www.nrt-kenya.org/news-list/6/20/2016-hirola-update">of the</a> existing 15,000 hirola, along with other wildlife. When the disease was eradicated in the early 1990s, the hirola populations didn’t bounce back. </p>
<p>In my <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12856/full">recent study</a>, my colleagues and I identified a combination of additional factors that kept their numbers low, and decreasing. </p>
<p>Firstly, hirola are a grassland species. Therefore, overgrazing by both livestock and other wildlife have led to a loss of food for the hirola in its native range. </p>
<p>The loss of elephants from hirola habitat, due to <a href="http://www.poachingfacts.com/poaching-statistics/elephant-poaching-statistics/">massive poaching</a>, also contributed significantly to the encroachment of trees into grasslands and led to reduced grasses for them to eat. Elephants control forestation as they uproot, break or eat trees. In their absence, <a href="http://nature.berkeley.edu/getzlab/dissertation/BaxterDis.pdf">trees increase</a> relative to grass cover.</p>
<p>Similarly, there used to be frequent bush fires, which contributed to a balance between tree cover and grassland. These were frequently used by locals but became suppressed by government policy. </p>
<p>Another key factor responsible for their low numbers is predation by carnivores. Lions, cheetahs, wild dogs and leopards pose a significant threat to the already diminishing hirola population. With such a low population, the survival of every individual counts. In many situations predators target mothers and their calves. This is because after calving, the female and her calf will temporarily disassociate from groups making them easier prey. </p>
<p>Finally, several droughts <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.695.5896&rep=rep1&type=pdf">have occurred</a> in the hirola’s range which also led to many deaths. </p>
<p><strong>Why has their conservation and recovery been so difficult?</strong></p>
<p>The conservation and recovery of hirola has been difficult for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>Language, religious and ethnic differences between conservationists and the Somalis living in Eastern Kenya, have led to suspicion and mistrust. This limits conservation efforts to opportunistic field visits by outsiders rather than a long-term, sustainable project. </p>
<p>Insecurity is also a big problem in parts of eastern Kenya – this includes the hirola’s rangeland. These areas have been volatile since independence <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Otunnu_Ogenga/publication/242253273_Factors_Affecting_the_Weatment_of_Kenyan-Somalis_and_Somali_Refugees_in_Kenya_A_Historical_Overview/links/0c960535049fb824cc000000.pdf">due to</a> banditry activities from across the border and conservationists have shied away from these areas. </p>
<p>Another barrier to conservation is the neglect of this region by the government. The area is marginalised and has poor infrastructure which makes it <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12856/full">difficult</a> to establish conservation projects or protected areas for the hirola. </p>
<p>A final, major factor is competition for pasture and other resources between the communities in the area, who rely on livestock, and the wildlife. This leads to apathy for conservation and a lack of participation by locals in recovery efforts.</p>
<p>*<em>What can be done to save them? *</em></p>
<p>Based on my <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12856/full">research</a> I believe that the following measures would help save the hirola:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Since there is a link between community livelihoods and hirola habitat, conservation projects must be supported by local communities. Trained, local scientists should be encouraged to take the lead in these. Communities are more likely to embrace conservation as a form of land-use if it’s not led by outsiders.</p></li>
<li><p>More protected areas should be created and existing sites need restoration. A part of this includes the restoration of the Arawale National Reserve which is at the centre of the hirola’s geographic range. This is a government protected area in Garissa County that used to thrive but has been neglected since 1982. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Because of the massive tree encroachment in the area that reduced grasslands, I also recommend:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Manual tree removal, to reduce tree encroachment on grassland, and native grass reseeding to increase food for the hirola</p></li>
<li><p>Voluntary reduction in livestock numbers to minimise overgrazing and competition between hirola and livestock </p></li>
<li><p>Community-based protection of elephants – in the form of anti-poaching squads and enhanced communication between villages – so that elephant herds can be safe on community land</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, there’s a big need for sustained funding. Conservation efforts tend to focus on other species in Kenya.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77486/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>My work was made possible by the support of the Kenya Wildlife Service, communities in Ijara and Fafi sub-counties of Garissa County, Garissa County officials, Ishaqbini Community Conservancy, Northern Rangelands Trust, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, British Ecological Society, Chicago Zoological Society, Denver Zoo, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Houston Zoo, Idea Wild, International Foundation for Science, IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group, Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, National Museums of Kenya, People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Rufford Foundation, St. Louis Zoo’s Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa, University of Wyoming’s Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center, University of Wyoming’s Haub School, and the Zoological Society of London. </span></em></p>
Elephants, livestock and grass all play an important role in ensuring the survival of the Hirola - the world’s rarest antelope.
Abdullahi Ali, Fellow, Zoological Society of London
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/77252
2017-05-11T16:24:02Z
2017-05-11T16:24:02Z
Poorer countries do more for the conservation of large mammals
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168705/original/file-20170510-28095-1t6241r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some megafauna species are dangerous and costly for humans to live with.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scores of animal species across the globe, including tigers, lions and rhinos, are at risk of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/10/807/2236134/Saving-the-World-s-Terrestrial-Megafauna">extinction</a> due to threats posed by mankind. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-threat-to-the-worlds-largest-wild-animals-is-much-greater-than-we-thought-64063">Recent studies</a> indicate that 59% of the world’s largest carnivores and 60% of the world’s largest herbivores are currently threatened with extinction. These species, known as megafauna, play very important ecological roles, but can be difficult to live with because they are prone to conflict with humans and can be challenging to conserve. </p>
<p>Some megafauna species are <a href="http://www.africanwildlifeconservationfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Livestock-husbandry-as-a-tool.pdf">dangerous and costly</a> for humans to live with and pose a direct risk to human life, crops, livestock and even pets. The targeted killing of these animals for their body parts, including skins, teeth, horns, bones and other organs, also means that significant effort and expenditure is needed to protect large mammals from poachers feeding the illegal wildlife trade. </p>
<p>Many megafauna species also have large spatial requirements, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/66/10/807/2236134/Saving-the-World-s-Terrestrial-Megafauna">resulting</a> in significant blocks of wilderness set aside to accommodate them. However, large mammals also engender unparalleled passion among the public for conservation. </p>
<p>Surprisingly little attention has been paid to how the world shares the burden of conserving these charismatic species. We cannot ignore the possibility that we will lose many of them unless swift, decisive and collective action is taken by the global community.</p>
<p>Therefore, the need exists to assess the relative contributions and sacrifices made by countries for conservation. Thus, measuring the efforts of nations to conserve such species seemed like a good place to start.</p>
<h2>Megafauna Conservation Index</h2>
<p>A group of colleagues and I set about to try to do just that. The idea was to identify a benchmark such that countries that are underperforming, in conservation terms, could be encouraged to do more. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989416300804">We created</a> a “megafauna conservation index” where we measured 152 countries on the following three areas based on the latest available information: </p>
<ul>
<li>The proportion of the country occupied by each megafauna species - spatial contribution</li>
<li>The proportion of the range of these species that’s strictly protected in each country - ecological contribution</li>
<li>The amount of money spent on conservation by each country – either domestically or internationally, relative to GDP - financial contribution</li>
</ul>
<p>These data were extremely challenging to collect, particularly information on the expenditures of countries on conservation. Improving the data on megafauna specific expenditure is an important next step. </p>
<p>We found wide divergence among nations. Poorer countries tend to contribute more and have a higher megafauna conservation index while richer countries contribute less. The reason for this varies from country to country, and continent to continent. For example, African countries tended to score more highly than other parts of the world in terms of the distribution and diversity of megafauna species.</p>
<p>The index classified 90% of countries in North/Central America and 70% of countries in Africa as major or above average performers. But approximately one quarter of countries in Asia (25%) and Europe (21%) were identified as major underperformers. Asia as a region scored the lowest megafauna conservation index, and is home to the greatest number of countries classified as conservation underperformers.</p>
<p>Although challenged by poverty and instability in many parts of the continent, Africa prioritises and makes more of an effort for large mammal conservation than any other region in the world. In fact, Africa accounts for four of the five top performing megafauna conservation nations, including Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The United States ranked 19 out of the top 20 performing countries.</p>
<h2>Improving scores</h2>
<p>At the 1992 <a href="http://www.un.org/geninfo/bp/enviro.html">Rio Earth Summit</a>, developed nations vowed to allocate at least USD$2 billion per annum towards conservation in developing nations. However, current conservation contributions from industrialised nations have reached just half of that amount, averaging USD$1.1 billion per year.</p>
<p>The world needs to do much more for megafauna conservation. But some countries need to step up more than others. Several developed countries in particular need to make much more of an effort in what’s a global asset and a shared responsibility. </p>
<p>There are three ways in which countries can improve their score:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>“Re-wilding” landscapes by reintroducing megafauna or by allowing the distribution of such species to increase;</p></li>
<li><p>Setting aside more land as strictly protected areas; and</p></li>
<li><p>Investing more in conservation, either at home or abroad.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>We hope that in creating this conservation index, nations around the globe will be mobilised to invest more in international conservation support to save the planet’s large and magnificent wildlife species. </p>
<p>_<a href="https://www.panthera.org/affluent-countries-commit-less-conservation-large-mammals-rest-world-panthera-and-oxford-university">Read Panthera’s press release</a> to learn more about this study. _</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Lindsey is Research Associate for Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, and affiliated with the Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria. </span></em></p>
Africa prioritises and makes more of an effort for large mammal conservation than any other region in the world.
Peter Lindsey, Policy Coordinator, Lion Program, Panthera, University of Pretoria
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/70217
2017-01-02T08:11:17Z
2017-01-02T08:11:17Z
Why elephants kept in captivity suffer from sore feet
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150081/original/image-20161214-32207-n7jq8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elephant feet have peculiar structures that can also be seen in other large-bodied animals.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women across the world understand the pain that comes with wearing a new pair of high heels. Any person who spends all day standing at work will also know how taxing it can be on the feet if you’re wearing the wrong shoes. So stop for a moment to consider how elephants feel.</p>
<p>Elephants are the largest living terrestrial mammals. Their feet carry that huge body mass of around eight tonnes in the case of African elephants. To achieve this weight-bearing duty, elephant feet have peculiar structures that can also be seen in other large-bodied animals like rhinoceroses.</p>
<p>A close-up of the <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/jexbio/215/9/1584/F1.large.jpg">elephant foot</a> shows elephants have five toes, the tips of which are in contact with the ground. They also have a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00648.x/abstract;jsessionid=772CEF0E52DD2C137E4ABBBD55233886.f03t01">large fat pad</a> – equivalent to the human heel – that fills the shape behind the toes.</p>
<p>The pad has the ability to spread out and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00611.x/abstract">potentially reduce pressure</a> when the foot hits the ground, similar to the human heel <a href="http://barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/Nature2010_FootStrikePatternsandCollisionForces.pdf">in barefoot runners</a>. Elephants also have enlarged false toes, or <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6063/1699">predigits</a>, that are embedded on the pads. These also ensure pressure is shifted from the sole to the rest of the limb. </p>
<p>Fossils of large bodied animals show a noticeable correlation between body weight, the posture of the toes and the development of the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6063/1699">fat pad</a>. Approximately 40 million years ago elephants had small body masses (less than 2000 kg) and their toes were flat. As elephants started growing bigger than 2000 kg they adopted more upright toes, larger fat pads and <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/334/6063/1699">predigits</a>. The assumption is that the fat pad developed in large-bodied land animals like elephants as a mechanism to reduce foot pressure while supporting their large body mass.</p>
<p>The pad works well for elephants living in natural environments with ample space to move and forage. In the wild, elephants <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470292150.ch5/summary">exercise their feet</a> by walking on rocks, digging around and by rubbing their fat pads against the ground. These activities keep their feet moist and their fat pads stay supple. They also serve as natural pedicures, trimming elephant’s heels. </p>
<p>But this isn’t true of elephants kept in captivity. As a result they suffer excessively from various feet ailments which often turn out to be fatal.</p>
<h2>Problems in captivity</h2>
<p>Research on elephants kept in semi-natural habitats has shown that both <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/215/9/1584">Asian</a> and <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/10/160203elephants">African</a> species concentrate the lowest pressures underneath the fat pad and the highest pressures on the outside part of their feet. </p>
<p>The reduction of foot pressure underneath the fat pad can be attributed to the compliance of the pad which potentially functions as a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00648.x/abstract">shock absorber</a> and pressure distributor. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZJ6UC1lapXE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Foot pressure in a walking African elephant kept in semi-natural environments.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Elephants are often kept in captive enclosures to protect them against poachers and as tourist attractions. But animals kept in enclosures with hard grounds (like concrete or tarmac) and small spaces can’t exercise their feet. </p>
<p>Hard surfaces with floors covered in urine and faeces can cause <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470292150.ch6/summary">infections around the pad</a>. A cracked or infected fat pad can’t absorb pressure effectively making the outside part of the foot <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/215/9/1584">more prone to diseases</a>. The <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470344484.ch20/summary">most-common problems</a> are toenail cracks, sole overgrowth, trauma, osteomyelitis, ankylosis of the joints and osteoarthritis. It is estimated that <a href="http://au.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470292121.html">50% of captive elephant deaths</a> are caused by these afflictions. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155223">study</a> in Asian and African elephants in north American zoos estimated that elephants exposed to hard surfaces <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155223">for four hours each day</a> were more likely to develop joint stiffness or lameness. This was compared to those exposed to hard surfaces for <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155223">2.5 hours per day</a>. </p>
<p>Another <a href="http://www.idausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/U-of-Bristol-Report.pdf">study</a> into the quality of zoos in the UK found that 80.4% of a sample of elephants kept in enclosures with hard ground had foot problems ranging from cracks to infection.</p>
<p>Managing foot diseases is <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155223">challenging</a> because they often only become evident when they have progressed to incurable stages. Diagnostic techniques like imaging are expensive and in most cases require general anaesthesia. Imaging or other hands-on methods are also impractical in most situations. </p>
<h2>Solutions</h2>
<p>There are a few things that can be done to keep the feet of captive elephants healthy.</p>
<p>Wherever feasible, enclosures should try and replicate the environment of a natural habitat and reduce an elephant’s exposure to hard surfaces.</p>
<p>Foot trimming is a popular foot care method to remove cracks and divots when elephants walk in less natural habitats. But trimming protocols vary and their effect is still unknown. <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/10/160203">Pressure platforms</a> – electronic systems with sensors that measure foot pressure during dynamic (walking) or static (standing) activities – are one way to go. They could be used to help keepers make better and more informed decisions to avoid affecting the mechanics of the elephant’s foot. </p>
<p>These <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/10/160203">pressure plates</a> could also be used as a diagnostic tool so that foot diseases are picked up earlier, just as podiatrists use pressure mapping to diagnose and treat human foot disorders.</p>
<p>Implementing these practical measures would help ensure that elephants held in captivity don’t suffer undue stress and pain. </p>
<p><em>The research that the article is based on can be found <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/10/160203">here.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olga Panagiotopoulou is affiliated to the University of Queensland. She is also a Research Affiliate with the Rory Hensman Conservation and Research Unit (RHCRU), in Limpopo, South Africa. </span></em></p>
Foot problems are more rife in elephants living in captivity. The hard ground they walk on often gives them foot trouble. Generally, by the time the problem is picked up, it’s too late.
Olga Panagiotopoulou, Lecturer in Anatomy, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/66433
2016-10-10T17:39:11Z
2016-10-10T17:39:11Z
A populist tighter ivory trade ban is not enough to save Africa’s elephants
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140847/original/image-20161007-8965-qb6sce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 27-year old ban on international ivory trade has clearly failed to deliver a sustained solution to the poaching crisis.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A disproportionate amount of the agenda at The 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) was dominated by African elephants and the controversial issue of the ivory trade. African elephants have declined by more than 100,000 over the past <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/714180/Thousands-African-elephants-poached-ivory-numbers-decline-conservationist">decade</a>. This is driven to a large extent by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/poaching-behind-worst-african-elephant-losses-25-years-%E2%80%93-iucn-report">surge in poaching</a> due to the rising price of <a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/poaching-behind-worst-african-elephant-losses-25-years-%E2%80%93-iucn-report">ivory</a>. </p>
<p>The debate on how to respond to this crisis is very polarised. On the one side countries like Namibia, supported by pro-use NGOs, argue that hundreds of thousands of elephants have been lost to poaching since the ban was put in place in 1989 and that it has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/01/debate-can-legal-ivory-trade-save-elephants?0p19G=c">served as an incentive to poachers</a> because it reduces supply and increases prices. </p>
<p>Their proposed solution is a highly regulated legal trade in ivory that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-ivory-sales-has-been-an-abject-failure-a-rethink-is-needed-65665">will provide funds</a> for conservation and incentives to rural people to conserve elephants and their habitat.</p>
<p>The opposing argument is that only a complete trade ban - both domestic and international - can work because the continued existence of domestic ivory markets, and one-off sales of ivory stockpiles, enables poached ivory to be laundered. This in turn <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/oct/01/debate-can-legal-ivory-trade-save-elephants?0p19G=c">fuels the poaching crisis</a>. Countries like Kenya, strongly supported by animal welfare organisations and some conservation NGOs, hold this view. </p>
<p>It is this second perspective that has the strongest support as reflected by a large majority of member countries of the World Conservation Union adopting a motion to support the closure of domestic <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/congress/motion/007">ivory markets</a>. This momentum continued at the CITES CoP17 with an agreed resolution encouraging the closure and tighter enforcement of domestic ivory markets.</p>
<p>But the 27-year old ban on international ivory trade has clearly failed to deliver a sustained solution to the poaching crisis. Yes, it has helped reduce poaching in some areas, but it is unclear that the stronger ban that includes the closing down of domestic markets will help conserve elephants. </p>
<h2>Resounding no to ivory trade</h2>
<p>The proposals by Namibia and Zimbabwe to sell ivory were defeated. Opponents of these proposals argued that any sale was likely to further stimulate demand and would enable laundering of illegal ivory. </p>
<p>The strong opposition is despite the fact that studies commissioned by CITES - that the parties to CITES agreed to and participated in - found no evidence that previous stockpile sales resulted in an increased poaching. The last one took place in 2009. Instead, these studies, and peer-reviewed research found that variables such as poverty levels, law enforcement capacity, governance and corruption, and commodity and investment cycles were more important <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/WorkingDocs/E-CoP17-57-05.pdf">in explaining poaching</a> <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800914002717">levels</a>. </p>
<h2>An era of populism</h2>
<p>But we live in an era of populism where simple silver bullet solutions to complex problems gain support. Examples include BREXIT and building walls to keep out unwanted <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/donald-trump-wall-mexico/483156/">immigrants</a>. A global international and domestic ban on ivory is a similarly appealing simple solution to a complex challenge that manifests differently in different countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140850/original/image-20161007-8965-1rvk47c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many African
countries bid to trade their natural ivory stockpiles. They believe this will fund conservation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In both South Africa and Namibia, for example, sustainable use of wildlife is enshrined in the constitution. And enforcing a domestic ban faces serious legal difficulties. In addition, China, one of the largest consumer countries, has already agreed to enforce <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?253490/China-and-US-pledge-to-end-domestic-ivory-trade">a domestic ivory ban</a>. </p>
<p>It is therefore unclear what additional gains there are from a continued push for a domestic ban in all countries. Critics feel that the underlying reasoning and motivations are simplistic and questionable. Yet the path of stricter bans is what the world has chosen on ivory at this point - and pro-use southern African countries and NGOs need to come to terms with this. </p>
<h2>Taking a new view</h2>
<p>The push for a global ban of international and domestic markets should be seen as a policy experiment. It may work to reduce poaching which will be a tremendous outcome for Africa’s elephants. But the conservation community needs to make sure that this stronger ban is not just rhetoric. The impact of actions like the continued ban on international trade and the closure of the Chinese and other domestic ivory markets need to be monitored, and measured. To this effect, the following measures are urgently needed.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>An agreed, independent, rigorous, framework and mechanism in which the price of ivory is monitored on the black market. If the strategy of more encompassing bans is successful in reducing demand, the price of ivory will drop, and continue to drop.</p></li>
<li><p>Attitudes towards purchasing ivory in demand countries. The motivations of buyers of ivory in countries like China <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714003371">are diverse</a>. Rigorous surveys that draw from disciplines like psychology, economics, and criminology are needed to assess whether the attitudes, intentions and behaviour of potential buyers and ivory investors are changing.</p></li>
<li><p>In African range states, where ivory is sourced, robust monitoring, research, and analyses are needed to understand whether changes in the demand market are ultimately leading to decreased poaching levels, and lower poaching effort.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>By setting in place mechanisms to track these variables, the conservation community can track the success of this strategy. If the current push for a stricter ban fails, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-ivory-sales-has-been-an-abject-failure-a-rethink-is-needed-65665">as some scholars predict</a> a system is needed to recognise this sooner rather than later, so that alternative strategies can be pursued. At the same time, if the closure of domestic markets succeeds in reducing the price of ivory and poaching – the pro-use nations and NGOs need to accept this. </p>
<p>Critically, even if a tighter ban resolves the poaching crisis - this is only one challenge facing elephants. Elephants require habitat to survive. The ivory trade is one important source of revenue in countries like Namibia to support elephant and habitat conservation. If this option disappears, and with increasing pressure on trophy hunting and the revenue it generates, alternative finance mechanisms urgently need to be sought.</p>
<p>Non-consumptive tourism is often touted, but tourism is a volatile market and can probably only sustainably support a fraction of Africa’s elephant populations. Novel finance mechanisms must be developed to ensure that community attitudes towards elephants and conservation do not worsen and that habitats for elephants are not transformed to agriculture and other non-conservation land-uses. </p>
<p>Ultimately, holistic, nuanced conservation strategies that are based on evidence and that are sustainable are required if African elephants are to be conserved for future generations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66433/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Duan Biggs receives funding from Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>
Ivory was a major talking point at the CITES CoP17 conference.Many feel the ban on trade doesn’t work while others believe the ban is the only way to save the iconic species.
Duan Biggs, Senior Research Fellow Social-Ecological Systems & Resilience, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/66069
2016-09-28T16:17:27Z
2016-09-28T16:17:27Z
Conservation decisions must protect the livelihoods of people living in Africa
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139663/original/image-20160928-27030-1pkcvfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women demonstrate in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley against the export of wild animals from the Maasai Mara National Park.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Antony Gitonga</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>182 member states of the world’s biggest convention on wildlife conservation have <a href="https://cites.org/eng/res/16/16-06.php">committed</a> – at <a href="https://cites.org/cop17">this year’s gathering</a> – to consider how trade decisions impact community livelihoods. </p>
<p>The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-cites-and-why-should-we-care-65510">(CITES)</a> regulates trade in threatened species. But can its decisions improve livelihoods? More pointedly, can its decisions undermine the rights of communities to development, food security or their cultural heritage? </p>
<p>These questions feed into a <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/values-culture-and-the-ivory-trade-ban">wider debate</a> about the relationship between conservation and development. Models of “fortress conservation”, “green grabbing” or “fences and fines” have been seen to place the interests of nature ahead of the development needs of local communities. This has generated resentment among some communities towards wildlife protection.</p>
<p>A broad range of multilateral frameworks such as <a href="http://www.uncsd2012.org/">Rio+20</a>, the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/">Convention on Biological Diversity</a> and the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a> seek to address this. They envision a mutually beneficial and synergistic relationship between conservation and development objectives. </p>
<p>CITES decisions can improve the livelihoods of people who live in Africa. But only if the convention <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-insights/cites-alone-cannot-combat-illegal-wildlife-trade">connects</a> with other multilateral environmental efforts to protect biodiversity. It also needs to avoid imposing external norms without due regard for local realities. For example, in the absence of any ivory trade, member states should commit to <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/re-thinking-the-application-of-sustainable-use-policies-for-african-elephants-in-a-changed-world">other ways</a> to finance conservation and improve local communities’ livelihoods. After all, these are the people on the front line of the battle against poaching.</p>
<h2>Ivory trade for the good of the communities?</h2>
<p>Probably the most controversial issue at this year’s CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP17) is the question of how to protect African elephants. This is an instructive lens through which to address how trade decisions may impact livelihoods.</p>
<p>From 2007 to 2014 roughly <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/2354">27,000 African elephants</a> a year have been killed illegally to satisfy demand for ivory in East Asia. But the threat to the elephants is geographically differentiated. </p>
<p>CITES protects some species from trade altogether by listing them on Appendix I if they are critically endangered. It lists other species on Appendix II if trade in that species will not undermine its sustainability, but requires regulation. Species can also be listed by regional population. For example, all African elephants are listed under Appendix I, except for the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which are listed on Appendix II.</p>
<p>The elephant populations in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe are in healthy condition. These countries <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/WorkingDocs/E-CoP17-84-03.pdf">proposed</a> that a decision-making mechanism be established to allow trade in ivory from Appendix II listed elephants. The proposal was <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37479072">rejected</a> by a two-thirds majority at the convention. </p>
<p>Namibia and Zimbabwe have submitted <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/opinion-analysis/ivory-sales-by-zimbabwe-and-namibia-could-create-demand-spike">additional proposals</a> to have their elephant populations removed from CITES appendix protection listing altogether. This would allow them to trade their ivory in any way they see fit. </p>
<p>These countries <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/prop/060216/E-CoP17-Prop-15.pdf">argue</a> that proceeds from ivory sales could make a vital contribution to financing conservation efforts. Communities would acquire some of the proceeds from ivory stockpile sales. This would provide them with an incentive to conserve elephant populations. And elephant numbers would rise as a result of conservation efforts boosted by regulated trade generating revenue for communities through tourism. </p>
<p>Proponents of trade legalisation <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-ivory-sales-has-been-an-abject-failure-a-rethink-is-needed-65665">argue</a> that efforts to ban ivory sales have failed and in fact have boosted corruption and illicit trade. </p>
<p>These arguments carry understandable appeal but also entail <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02589346.2016.1201378?journalCode=cpsa20">risks</a>. A decision to trade may have irreversible consequences. For instance, the natural rate of ivory supply seems unlikely to be able to satisfy demand and runs the risk of igniting currently dormant demand. Plus, maintaining a high price for ivory would maintain the current incentive to poach. </p>
<p>South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe are correct to point out that financing for conservation is a serious challenge. But it does not follow that a regulated trade in ivory is the solution.</p>
<h2>How to improve livelihoods</h2>
<p>A new reality is emerging in which the world’s largest domestic ivory markets are likely to be shut down. The US has recently closed theirs and China is <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/general-publications/1104-2016-09-19-snap-working-paper-for-saiia-rev/file">likely</a> to follow suit soon. In the absence of trading ivory, other solutions have to be found to fund conservation and improve the livelihoods of communities living on the front line of conservation efforts. </p>
<p>Some suggestions that have been put forward include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>A global <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/re-thinking-the-application-of-sustainable-use-policies-for-african-elephants-in-a-changed-world">biodiversity tax</a> “to fund protected area management at scale in areas where there are no alternative forms of conservation land use”. Global consumers can currently pay for carbon credits, for instance, but a tax is a more efficient way of achieving a similar end. </p></li>
<li><p>Enabling communities living with or near wildlife to become <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-insights/is-community-based-natural-resource-management-in-botswana-viable">drivers of conservation</a>. Community members can no longer be seen as passive beneficiaries of tourism partnerships. </p></li>
<li><p>Better governance structures for communities to derive benefits from protecting natural resources. Community based natural resource management <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/the-state-of-community-based-natural-resource-management-in-southern-africa-assessing-progress-and-looking-ahead">appears to be working</a> in places like Namibia. A well-governed hunting industry seems to be a key success factor here, but this is debatable. Either way, well-governed hunting is not easily transposed into other contexts. The hunting industry is often guilty of regulatory abuse. Because of such abuse, Botswana has chosen to abandon hunting altogether. Some experts <a href="https://africajournalismtheworld.com/2016/09/08/botswana-are-things-falling-apart-in-the-conservation-sector-as-more-elephants-are-poached/">worry</a>, though, that this decision may have unintended negative consequences.</p></li>
<li><p>A move away away from community trusts towards community land rights. The <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/policy-insights/is-community-based-natural-resource-management-in-botswana-viable">challenges faced by Botswana</a> demonstrate the difficulty with trusts. Community trusts apply for concessions over communal land and are racked with governance difficulties. Community land rights, to the contrary, allow individual communities to make decisions about how they use their own land. Conservation land-use incentives are built in. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Critical to consider local values</h2>
<p>Finally, the reality is that global norms often don’t fit with local value sets. </p>
<p>A crucial interlocutor between supply and demand is <a href="http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/values-culture-and-the-ivory-trade-ban">values</a> – what people believe about elephants and ivory. This means that a total ivory trade ban may not produce an immediate reversal of the poaching pandemic. Communities that resent the imposition of external norms may respond by poaching. </p>
<p>Being aware of these dynamics may go a long way to improving the probability of conservation success. Spesurvival ultimately depends on improving community livelihoods and understanding local values.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Harvey recently completed a project funded by Stop Ivory, and works for the Governance of Africa's Resources Program of the South African Institute of International Affairs, which is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria. </span></em></p>
In the absence of trading ivory, other solutions have to be found to fund conservation and support communities living on the front line of the battle against poaching.
Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/65665
2016-09-22T17:11:36Z
2016-09-22T17:11:36Z
The ban on ivory sales has been an abject failure. A rethink is needed
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138765/original/image-20160922-22544-1g01agz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The fate of elephants ultimately lies in the hands of humans and a continued ban will not solve the poaching problem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The issue of trade in African elephant ivory will dominate the 2016 <a href="https://cites.org/eng/cop/index.php">CITES Conference of the Parties</a> meeting. Debate will revolve around maintaining or lifting the ban on trade, but with little chance of addressing the overarching human element. For example, what impact has the trade ban had on local communities? And what is the relationship between their livelihoods and elephant protection and poaching?</p>
<p>There has been vocal support for maintaining a ban on the trade in ivory. But <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1201378">the central arguments</a> for a continuation of the ban fail to grasp the mismatch between a CITES trade ban and Africa’s de facto realities. Instead, overly simplistic views are aired that are blind to grass root complexities and nuances. </p>
<p>This narrow lens leads to the prescription of a “one size fits all” solution under which both communities, and elephants, ultimately suffer. Elephants are treated as a global commons. In fact their fate ultimately lies in the hands of humans which is why a continued ban, with increased enforcement accompanied by demand reduction, will not solve the poaching problem. </p>
<p>Indeed, regaining control of elephant ivory as a resource is the core problem around which the trade debate centres. It also concerns itself with allocation of power and control of resources among governments, communities and institutions.</p>
<p>Opponents of a legal trade in elephant ivory give the impression that there is a deep crisis: elephants are headed for extinction. Yet the status of elephants varies greatly across and within Africa. The greatest losses have occurred in central and west Africa, the continent’s two most politically <a href="http://www.elephantdatabase.org/preview_report/2013_africa_final/2013/Africa">unstable regions</a>.</p>
<p>Contrast this with southern Africa, which has experienced a steady rise in elephant populations and is now home to <a href="http://www.elephantdatabase.org/preview_report/2013_africa_final/2013/Africa">two-thirds of Africa’s elephants</a>.
There is a problem, but it’s not continent-wide problem. The global population of the African elephant is not in immediate danger of extinction.</p>
<h2>A legal ivory trade</h2>
<p>A major flaw in the argument against those wanting to lift the ban is that legalising the sale of ivory may fail to reduce its price. But the pro-trade southern Africa countries are not seeking to drive prices downward. Why would they want to reduce the income from a product over which they have a competitive advantage?</p>
<p>Southern African countries’ aim is to realise the maximum income that the market will pay in a trading system based on <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/prop/060216/E-CoP17-Prop-15.pdf">regular sales</a>. They want to gain control of the supply of ivory to a market that has been seized by illegal traders. Money from the legal sale of ivory would provide income to rural peoples who live with elephants – establishing the incentives for <a href="http://e360.yale.edu/feature/point_the_case_for_a_legal_ivory_trade_it_could_help_stop_the_slaughter/2814/">their conservation</a>. </p>
<p>The ultimate goal of southern African countries is the transition from the present land-use system to a higher-valued one where rural people derive a better living from alternative options. This requires an enabling framework that does not include ivory trade bans or donor-dependent conservation. One example is Namibia’s Conservancy Programme, generally regarded as the <a href="ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/aj114e/aj114e10.pdf">most successful</a> in southern Africa.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138766/original/image-20160922-22533-1q9f2y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Money from the legal sale of ivory would provide income to rural peoples who live with elephants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Southern Africa needs higher-valued land uses to survive an impending <a href="http://www.unocha.org/el-nino-southern-africa">environmental crisis</a>. The lives of millions of people are at risk through climate change. By demanding the inception of a legal ivory trade at CITES, southern African nations are seeking no more than that ivory sales assist in alleviating this crisis. Its sheer magnitude makes CITES’ preoccupation with listing species on Appendices irrelevant. It is a case of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.</p>
<p>Responsible global citizens should be doing everything in their power to facilitate a legal ivory trade that will mitigate human misery, realise the true potential of elephants and ultimately result in their long-term conservation. The likely annual proceeds from ivory for the anti-ban nations are of the order of US$1.5 billion. </p>
<p>This is calculated on the basis of around 300,000 elephants producing 500kg of ivory per 1,000 elephants at a value <a href="https://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/sc/62/E62-46-04-A.pdf">of US$1,000/kg</a>. Existing rural community institutions are in place to ensure that funds are returned to <a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=2840580">local people</a>. </p>
<h2>Demand is in flux, prices sensitive</h2>
<p>Another fallacious argument is that the market for ivory in Asia – particularly China – is insatiable due to growing affluence. This was purportedly ignited by a large “one-off” ivory sale <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2016.1201378">conducted by CITES in 2008</a>. This demand, the argument goes, has the potential to wipe out African elephant populations by 2020.</p>
<p>This is just drama. Demand is in flux and is sensitive to prices. And the role of affluence must be questioned since incomes in Asian consumer countries have been increasing since well <a href="http://www.tradingeconomics.%20com/china/gdp-per-capita-ppp">before 2000</a>. It’s not possible to reconcile the assertion that affluence is synonymous with insatiable demand.</p>
<p>For many, the spectre of laundering in sufficient quantity to pose a significant threat is reason enough not to pursue legal trade and, indeed, to shut down all trade – even in extinct, look-alike species. In excess of 2400 metric tons of raw ivory left Africa between 2002 – 2014 and, of this, China’s 5-6 tonnes/year is a minor amount. Illegal traders do not need a legal market to launder ivory: their established trade conduits continue to work, as always.</p>
<h2>Abject failure</h2>
<p>Everyone agrees that the illegal ivory trade continues despite the international trade ban. It has been an abject failure. CITES has had 27 years to evaluate the experiment and, far from being part of the solution to illegal elephant killing in Africa, the ban must be seen as part of the problem.</p>
<p>Some posit that a legal trade in ivory cannot work with the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25103555">corruption in Africa</a>. But they fail to consider that the ban has created fertile conditions for corruption. Indeed, officials and governments across the continent who declared the trade of ivory illegal have themselves been engaged in it. It made smuggling easy, according to popular <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2001/naipaul-bio.html">writer V. S. Naipaul</a>.</p>
<p>As he has done before, Naipaul touches a nerve. Africa today has no need for yet another spurious declaration. Rather, it needs support for the creation of a robust management and marketing system for one of its most valuable products.</p>
<p><em>Kirsten Conrad and Rowan Martin featured as co-authors on this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marshall Murphree does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The ivory trade is a very contentious issue and will be debated at CITES. It will revolve around maintaining or lifting the ban on trade. But the human element is likely to be ignored.
Marshall Murphree, Professor Emeritus and Director of the Centre of Applied Social Sciences, University of Zimbabwe
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/64365
2016-09-05T03:01:45Z
2016-09-05T03:01:45Z
Protected areas are helping save our favourite animals – but let’s not forget the others
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135572/original/image-20160826-6618-j168qg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Zebras are among the larger wildlife doing well in protected areas. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Woodley/IUCN</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Protected areas, like national parks and wildlife refuges, are the cornerstones of global conservation efforts. So making sure they achieve their mission is fundamental to our goal of halting biodiversity declines.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, how well protected areas maintain their biodiversity remains poorly understood. While there is clear evidence that protected areas, such as <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/sanctuary-how-the-view-from-space-is-protecting-earth-today">Egmont National Park</a> in New Zealand, can prevent deforestation, there is much less evidence of how well they protect our wildlife. </p>
<p>Our work, published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12747">Nature Communications</a>, examined trends for more than 500 species of birds and mammals in protected areas in 72 countries. The good news is that most animals are doing well, more so for birds than mammals. But that’s no reason to become complacent.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135585/original/image-20160826-11170-1246xdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Land surrounding Egmont National Park has been cleared to its edges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.nasa.gov/content/sanctuary-how-the-view-from-space-is-protecting-earth-today">NASA/USGS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Winners and losers</h2>
<p>On the whole, birds are doing better than mammals, and species in Europe better than those in Africa. Species doing well include hippopotamus, northern hairy-nose wombats and waterfowl across Europe such as flamingoes in the Camargue region of France. </p>
<p>Those declining in protected areas include bushbuck in Selous National Park and other antelope like kob. Common birds such as common teal and European skylark are not immune, nor are a number of <a href="http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/pls/portallive/docs/1/31815708.PDF">shorebirds globally</a>. Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys are declining in Na Hang National Park in Vietnam, Tucuman parrots in Argentina, and the delightful <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/niu6lib1ddgnonv/Mallee%20Eme%20Wren%20-%20Credit%20Dean%20Ingwersen.jpg?dl=0">mallee emu-wren</a> declined to precipitously low levels in Ngarkat National Park, before being <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-23/mallee-emu-wren-endangered/7437544">wiped out in South Australia in a single fire</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136511/original/image-20160905-20253-skk42p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">South Australia’s mallee emu-wrens were completely wiped out by recent bushfires.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Ingwersen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a result of this monitoring data, many of the declining populations we studied have now been targeted for management – for instance, wetland birds across Europe. Others, like shorebirds, are faced with an intimidating cocktail of hard-to-manage international threats. </p>
<h2>A few surprises</h2>
<p>Unexpectedly, we also found the biggest animals were doing the best. Species like giraffes and zebras have more positive populations than smaller species like jackals. </p>
<p>This is surprising since larger animals tend to be slow to grow, mature and reproduce. As a result they are often slow to recover from population suppression.</p>
<p>Large animals often act as <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/great_apes/orangutans/">flagships for particular ecosystems</a>. For instance, orang-utans are a flagship for Indonesia’s rainforests. The implication of our research is that focusing on these species is not enough to make sure all species will survive.</p>
<p>While more than half of protected areas we studied are getting better, there remain many protected areas where declines are still occurring worldwide. Despite this, conditions that deliver success for wildlife in protected areas are poorly understood. So, we investigated which parks were doing best and why. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136213/original/image-20160901-8537-12bqw6c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Camargue’s greater flamingos are doing well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Megan Barnes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Making better reserves</h2>
<p>Wildlife in protected areas is going better in wealthier, more developed countries (Europe) compared to developing countries (like in West Africa). It is hard to tell, though, if the difference is due to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23818619">more resources available</a> in developed countries, or increasing threats in developing nations. </p>
<p>National-scale socioeconomic conditions were also far more important in influencing how well parks protect wildlife than factors such as size, design or type. This shows it’s important to tailor management to social and political conditions. Over long timescales, the design of protected areas is likely to remain important, but our results show the importance of managing parks for more immediate threats. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136512/original/image-20160905-20228-e01lhe.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A pygmy hippo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ben Collen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our results suggest that active management – like managing invasive predators, preventing poaching and reducing conflict between people and wildlife – helps animals with low reproductive rates and mitigates the greater threat faced by larger species of birds and mammals due to their slow reproductive rates. Parks still need to be well-managed, though, and threats can’t become too severe – as in the recent <a href="http://www.traffic.org/rhinos/">poaching crisis</a>. </p>
<p>The tools to ensure good outcomes from protected areas exist — but the will and capacity to implement them must be strengthened if we expect them to act as refuges for all species forever. </p>
<p>This week at the World Conservation Congress, members of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and NGOs will vote on policies to halt biodiversity declines by 2020. To date, conservationists have focused on increasing the size of the global protected area estate, but simply establishing more protected areas <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7572/full/526195e.html">is not enough</a>.</p>
<p>Instead, we need a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.12645/abstract">radical change</a> in commitment. To do this we need to address shortfalls in management. Ensuring both sufficient and secure <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/338/6109/946">finances for management</a> and appropriate and equitable governance is just the beginning. Otherwise we’ll keep creating more parks, but <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v526/n7572/full/526195e.html">wildlife will keep declining</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Barnes has received funding from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmrntal Decisions</span></em></p>
New research shows protected areas are doing well at protecting large, iconic wildlife, but less well at helping smaller species.
Megan Barnes, Postdoctoral fellow, Decision Science, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.