Poaching Could Cut Africa Elephants By 20 Pct In 10-Years

Image from WorldWildLife.org

Africa could lose 20 percent of its elephant population in a decade if current poaching levels are not slowed, animal conservation groups warned Monday.

An estimated 22,000 elephants were illegally killed across the continent last year, as poaching reached “unacceptably elevated levels,” said a joint statement by CITES, TRAFFIC and IUCN.
“If poaching rates are sustained at current levels, Africa is likely to lose a fifth of its elephants in the next ten years,” the statement said.

An experiment reveals that elephants not only cooperate, but that they understand the logic behind teamwork. Jorge Ribas reports on the findings.

DISCOVERY

The study was released as experts and ministers met in Botswana Monday to look at ways to stamp out the elephant slaughter, which is fueled by a growing demand for ivory in Asia.

“We continue to face a critical situation,” said John E. Scanlon, secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

“Current elephant poaching in Africa remains far too high, and could soon lead to local extinctions if the present killing rates continue,” he said.

Scanlon described the situation in central Africa, where the estimated poaching rate is twice the continental average, as “particularly acute”.
There are around half a million elephants left in Africa compared with 1.2 million in 1980 and 10 million in 1900.

From News Discovery.com