Poaching
A crime against humans and animals
This topic came as a surprise to me, but it’s been sad news. Land grabbers shoot illegal wild animals on the savannah and sells it to local slaughterhouses , are now so a case. And we currently may accept. Although I have not been on safari more than once this year and then in the neighbourhood, Nairobi National Park. They do not have elephants, although David Sheldridge Elephant Orphanage for baby elephants are located in the park area. They take the baby elephants who have lost their mother for some reason (usually due to poaching ) and rears them up and teach them to become wild elephants . Finally, they are sent to the major Tsavo National Park to live a wild life. It has proved to work very well.
We are talking about the big animals that have ivory. In Nairobi National Park they have a small tribe of white and black rhinos. White and black has nothing to do with colours to do. On Afrikaans (and Norwegian!) means ?vid? when something is wide. One rhino breed had a wide mouth (they most ate grass) and were of the Afrikaners called ” wide (mouth) elephant “. Some Englishmen chose to misunderstand and called the other branch-eating rhino black. The last type is what is endangered. There are more dangerous and more aggressive than the other. It happened just a few days ago was that just in this safest of all parks were shot a black rhinoceros because of ivory.
I have previously experienced elephants and rhinos at fairly close range in various national parks. Closest to a rhino we were in Nakuru NP where we almost were “hit” by a white mother with a huge baby. The heart did beat very fast then. We drove around in an ordinary small car so we almost saw rhinos under basis. Nevertheless, it was an experience of a lifetime to get these giant animals so close to us. Got fortunately attached to both the video and photo.
Elephants have I experienced more often. These large, powerful, but also worthy animals is impressive to meet, both when they are alone (usually males) or in herds. Have seen them up close, not least in Tsavo and Amboseli NP (and in Kruger NP in S-Africa). The elephants in Tsavo are usually red because they do take a bath in the very red savannah soil there. They also love rubbing against the giant baobab trees. The elephants in Amboseli are famous because they all have names. The elephants were a few years ago threatened not least of the maasai people. The elephants had reportedly destroyed some maasailcraals and maasai counterattacked and killed many elephants. (The Maasais have apparently done something similar with the lions.) Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS ) intervened, and later managed systematically building up the number of elephants again . It has been shown that elephants have subsequently tried to revenge the maasais by attacking their cattle. Elephants do have an excellent remembrance. This is certainly shown in a television program that aired on NRK last year. A baby guard from Nairobi visited Tsavo and was recognized by the adult elephant he once was a baby caretaker. Reunion joy was great.
Moreover, it was reported on a project in South Africa where it was built a new Sanctuary where they also had elephants – in this case young elephants. It was soon noted that the elephants here behaved strangely. They attacked both tourists and rhinos in this park. It was decided to introduce some older elephants from Krüger and after a short time the misbehaving come to an end. The young elephants had to learn “manners” of the elderly.
My experience of elephants has been the peaceful events. We stopped and admired the herd’s migration aver savannah. How the elderly took care of the younger ones. Only in one case it was a little dramatic. When we drove the road we have to stick to, it was a small elephant herd grazing on both sides of it. The driver did not notice that on one side of the road was a big female, while on the other walked two cubs. As we pass throw the female elephant its trunk after the car, but did miss luckily.
Another incident happened outside Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania. Our host at Rhino Lodge was during dinner going from table to table to talk to people and tell about the place. The next morning when eating breakfast he did enter the room saying – have anybody parked an elephant at the parking? Everybody run out to see. And there it was….
I plan to finish my 5th stay in Kenya with a night in Amboseli. We ‘ve only been on day trips there a few times. Although Amboseli is not known for the big amount of animals, other than just elephants and the “backdrop” of Kilimanjaro, if we are lucky with the clouds. The first time we were on a day trips, we did experience just that background of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Waowww
Leakey family has a strong position here in Kenya through several generations. They have become known for his research and his discovery of the oldest people here in Africa. Dr. Richard Leakey has been involved heavily in the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) , but pulled out of the business a few years ago. He has now gone to the media and asked President Kenyatta directly involved in the war against poaching. He argues simply that the case has become a national disaster. In 2013 KWS argued that it was killed 302 elephants in Kenya, a figure many experts argue is set too low. Only in January this year (2014), 30 elephants have been killed. It is surprising that of the 16 rhinos were killed recently (2014) , were 12 of them in private conservancies which were thought to enjoy better security than national parks. 4 of them were killed in Nairobi NP as thought was the safest park in the country.
It has adopted a new and stricter law against poaching and trade in ivory. There are strict penalties for those who are caught. Currently there are no convicted under the new law. Some Chinese were taken with ivory cargo and was stopped, but was not prosecuted for Kenyan court – only sent straight out of the country. Would a Kenyan taken threat to panda bears in China released as cheap? Asks Dr. Leakey.
According to Richard Leakey Kenya has been No. 1 in the world in for ivory smuggling. This claim at least Interpol. Mombasa has become the centre for ivory exports for the whole of East Africa. 13 tonnes of ivory was seized in Kenya last year and one can only speculate at the quantities that passed through not detected. It is at alarming high numbers in question; in addition to all the suffering this causes the animals. 8 KWS rangers have been killed in pursuit of poachers, it is getting tougher on the Kenyan savannah.
According to dr.Leakey state must take into account the fact that this is not just a crime against the wild animals. The President can no longer ignore the fact that these criminals belonging to international mafia which poses a major threat to the economy and national security. He is sure that the leaders of the Ministry and other government institutions and KWS know who the top dealers or financiers of this bloody business are. They are fewer than 50 people, some of them are known from the media, but not one of them have been arrested to date.
Richard Leakey concludes with the following appeal: I am calling on the President of the Republic of Kenya to address this problem because our national security agencies do not cooperate in the war against poaching and ivory trade. We need an active president to win this war. The voice and political will of our president are most critically needed if we are to win this war. He will get all the international support he needs. The president cannot afford to leave a legacy for future generations of Kenyans that does not include elephant and rhinos.
Let’s hope he succeeds. President Kenyatta has so far not commented and talked about other things.
