Smuggling Elephant Tusks: A Cruel Art or Act?

Dear readers, 'I hit a wall'... that's my lousy excuse for not writing for the past five weeks. Forgive me? Maybe i shall redeem myself once i write this article today. :) So i stumbled upon some news...not good news actually. A huge smuggling operation came to a stop just 10 days ago in Bangkok when they seized 739 tusks worth $6 million dollars en route to Laos. Now i don't know about you, but the value of the money does nothing for me... you see when i hear 739 tusks, i hear 739 adult elephants dead!!! Does that do anything for you? Does it make you want to scream? Does it make you want to hit a wall? (that's my attempt at my own joke). Anyway, does it make you question humanity? Does it make you wonder why they do it?

These are just some of the questions i ask myself at times when i hear such terrible news. I even come short of asking the old adage question, 'why do bad things happen to 'good people' or in this case 'innocent animals'. I use the term innocent lightly because unlike humans, these animals may not seem as innocent but we must remember we are the reason they are 'cruel' or termed 'dangerous'. Smuggling is an art...yes you heard right, an art. Now when you imagine art you may think of a painting right? Well, that's a very small way of looking at it. Art according to Wikipedia (this is the best definition of the word I've come across) means 'a diverse range of human activities and the product of those activities usually involving imaginative or technical skill'. Now there's that word 'skill' and i think you might be getting the picture right? Because first of all, the activities include transporting the tusks, the skill involves carrying out the transportation and the product is the illegal trading of the tusks. I don't know about you but that seems like work that requires lots of skill.

Let's imagine for a minute the chain of command here from the beginning (PS: this does not in any way uphold their actions). So, an organized gang hires poachers to go out to the wild and well..poach these animals, the poachers then link up with the smugglers to transport the goods to the final destination. Let's say that this operation succeeds all through, which process do you think was the hardest and thus required greater skill? I am most certain that the smuggling bit of this operation is the hardest as it contains numerous risks and if am not being speculative is partly the reason the tusks cost so much. However, this is not important. It doesn't matter at what angle we look at it; smuggling is only a part, albeit an 'important' one, of a heinous act that destroys the lives of thousands of elephants each year. Ironically, since the ban on ivory was made years ago, the sell of illegal ivory has skyrocketed! The demand then was way higher than the supply so these 'customers' were willing to pay a lot for these goods. Now, more personnel are hired and elephants are dying now more than ever! Just this one example out of many other 'successful' operations was caught in the act. However, the cruel act of poaching had already been done. The lives of these elephants cannot be replaced. The trade might have been stopped but the act had already been committed.

There's much in this world we cannot control but what we can control is our attitudes. You see, if we decided that an elephant is far too important of an animal to risk losing, we'd join in the fight against poaching. Smuggling may be an art but its fueled by a higher desire for wealth and power. We may not be able to do away with these heinous acts but what we can do is change our attitudes, fight harder and spread the word. If just one person involved in this heinous act is led to understand the harm they 'cause' to this beloved animal, then our work as stewards for the elephant would have borne fruit. Until then, we cannot be silent. Who will speak out with me? :)

Elephants' Near Extinction: Crossing Over To The Dark Side

Extinction... a word echoed within the corridors of conservation but whispered within the closed doors of government. Sad to think how many wildlife had to go extinct for the world to notice. Just this week, i came across an article that mentioned the horrific poaching of over 70 elephants in the Congo. My friends and I echoed sentiments of how horrific that act was. It led me thinking however, how many of us would pause and let these words resound in our ears. Death is not something you can get used to...its cruel; it's even more cruel when it takes away more life than is being born.

This week, a conference on the African Elephant (the African Elephant Summit) was held in Botswana to discuss the rising numbers in elephant deaths as a result of poaching. The outcome of this summit showed that the African elephant could be extinct within one or two decades. If you think that's a long time...think again...it's well within your lifetime! Yes, a day will come just like it happened to all other extinct wildlife, that we will not have this magnificent animal walking tall within the savanna. Hard to imagine, right? Swallow this then...East Africa has seen the worst decline from 150,000 elephants in 2006 to about 100,000 in 2013! The trend of course is on a decline! Perhaps if the IUCN were to change the status of this animal to let's say ''Near Extinct'' (this category is not among those listed by the IUCN...i just made it up), this might help raise the alarm more clearer, right? Unfortunately, not! Things have gotten worse for the elephant, even with its status reading endangered!

Interesting to note however is that poverty was highlighted as the likely cause of poaching in Africa. Surprised? According to an elephant specialist with the IUCN, a direct correlation was made between human infant immortality; which is a measure of poverty and levels of poaching. Strange, right? Nevertheless, this cannot be far from the truth. Sure poachers are just out to get money to feed their families, but its more likely that these men and women are living within the poverty line and are lured to get quick money at a very big cost. And with the increase in poaching in these parts of the world, these men and women are only acting out of orders from highly organized international criminal gangs. Interestingly, at the summit were representatives of China, of whom have been accused of fueling this crisis. This however goes to show that one apple does not spoil the entire barrel...the Republic is determined to reduce this offense in its backyard. In fact, demand reduction programmes have began in this country.

Still, there is much work to be done to curb this problem. This summit could not have come at a better time. It's main objective being to secure commitments at the highest political level to significantly reduce elephant killings is crucial. Leaders such as President Obama who have stepped up their administrations to work towards combating this illegal trade and protecting elephants are making this dream possible. Thus, if more governments and conservation bodies were to partner in this context, there would definitely be a difference in the world of elephants. Elephants are facing extinction much closer than we think and the power to stop it is in our hands. Will you let these words resound in your ears now? Will you help do something...anything to stop this cruel illegal trade? Elephants need us, will you step up before they cross over to the dark side?

Elephant Social Structure: A Sense Of Direction

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, this week I happened to see a very sad photo of an elephant with tears running down its face and who most likely could have been grieving the loss of a loved one. For most of us who are aware of the social structure of elephants, we can understand the pain in this animal's eyes. A book was published in 1996 on this topic by a man named Jeffrey Masson called 'When Elephants Weep'. Even though he did not dwell on elephants but the entire animal kingdom, he opened up debate on the emotional lives of animals and changed the way we looked at animals.

The social life of elephants has been a subject for years and years with most researchers being fascinated by what they found out. As i pointed out in my earlier posts, elephants live in very close social networks and rely on one another. They practically survive on the bonds they share with one another. And just as every family has a head, the head of a herd of elephants is the matriarch. She is usually the largest and oldest female in the herd and whom all the other elephants look up to. She determines where they eat, when they move and even looks after their safety and health. Now, imagine if the matriarch is taken away from them and lets say, killed by poachers, wouldn't this affect them? Let's for a moment think of it this way...the loss of a father or mother in the home is usually felt far worse more than any other member of the family. Am I right? Well, i could argue many reasons why but one reason stands, the family feels as if its lost direction.

This same feeling is felt when the elephants' circumstances changes in their once docile environment. They feel lost and surely without a sense of direction, their chances of survival lessen. Well, sure they could join other groups or make one of their own but its never really the same. More so, elephants herds are usually made up of mostly females as the males leave the herd in their teens. These female  therefore have to look out for one another and help each other look after their young ones. Just this week, we celebrated International Women's Day with many women celebrating one another and recognising those women who have triumphed in a male-dominated world. Well, if we could have an 'International Day for Female Animals', the matriarchs would definitely be among the most celebrated. Can i hear an Amen ladies! :) 

Poaching of elephants as you may be aware is usually targeted on the big adults because of their big tusks and sadly, the matriarch most times falls victim. This causes disarray within the family making them anxious and violent. As humans continue to encroach on their habitats, elephants are becoming increasingly violent and will do away with anything that comes in the way of their survival. This goes against their nature as they are known to be very friendly, playful and sociable animals. With these threats they face, elephants are slowly being forced to change according to their circumstances. Understanding that as humans we're responsible for the change in their social structure is important to enable us to start thinking of ways we can change this trend before its too late.

There's a lot of literature on the social behavior of elephants that would burn your ears out just listening to it. Nevertheless, with many research studies being done on these social structures, maybe we can find a way of interacting with these animals in a way that is not harmful to them. Till then, we should take the time to learn more about these animals. Who knows, they may teach us a thing or two on proper interactions, don't you think? ;)

Elephants vs Locals: Ignorance is Bliss?

This has indeed been a great week in the world of everything environment and wildlife! On 3rd March we celebrated three events in one day! The first was the second year celebration of World Wildlife Day which was made official during the UN General Assembly Session in 2013 in commemorating the adoption of CITES. The second event, Africa Environment Day also falls on the same day and in honour of Wangari Maathai and the contributions she made in the protection of the environment, allocated that day as Wangari Maathai Day; making it the third celebrated event.

The highlighted issue that stood out this week was that it was time to get serious about wildlife crime. This was the message given by the UN Secretary General and echoed by the Secretary General of CITES. WWF also came out clear on recognising the importance of wildlife especially those endangered and threatened. Another issue raised was the increasing loss of habitat and its destruction in many African ecosystems. It has been realised that most African economies are being grown at the expense of the environment. With mining and exploration activities on the rise, we are slowly losing our environment to the gutter. Deforestation rates have increased and over-fishing has become a common problem. Do i even need to discuss what climate change is doing to our nations?

Its come out clearly over the past decades that things are getting worse in our world. With major technological and developmental discoveries, man is each day finding ways to survive. This however is affecting our environment many ways than it can handle and elephants are right in the middle of this. I've spoken a lot in my past posts on how elephants are being affected by man's destructions. Being the intellectual beings they are, their loss is felt far more than we can imagine. It is however even sadder to know that these elephants survival is tied to those whom they live close to as reported in 'The Guardian'. As 'harsh' as this writer may sound, i have to agree on his thinking, locals living around these animals have the power to protect them, but only if they knew why.

Its easy to put the blame on the government for bad governance, the wildlife organisations for not doing enough and the poachers, well for poaching. But have we stopped to consider the people at the grass root level? Elephants destroy their farms and kill them by the hundreds; would you protect an animal that does that if you didn't know why? No? Exactly! These locals need to be educated why elephants are important to them otherwise we will continue to face more elephant deaths by their numbers. Equally, those people living in forests who depend on it for their survival and cut down its trees unknowingly of the destruction they do will only continue to do so unless they know why they shouldn't. I believe that creating awareness to the locals living close to these ecosystems as well as these wildlife will go a long way in protecting these animals.

We may continue to celebrate these world events and remind ourselves how we are to blame for the loss of our environments and wildlife but if we continue to let these important people continue to live in their ignorance, we may be to blame far more than we are now. Let's think about that, shall we?

Habitat Fragmentation and Loss: Whose Loss Really?

Today i go back to talking about a major issue affecting the elephant...but first....let me begin by saying, blogging is hard work! Yes it is...bloggers testify! So when the opportunity to go on break comes along, we take it! Basically, we have to decide on our own breaks otherwise we'll be stuck writing and end up doing so just for the sake. However, i just wanted to say, its the readers that make the hours put into thinking, creating and writing worthwhile, so, thank you dear readers!

Now, back to elephants. You see, the threats facing elephants such as this one could all be solved with
one word, kindness. Surprising ha? Yes, kindness can go a long way even in saving these big creatures. I like this word 'kindness'....especially when show host Ellen Degeneres says it, "be kind to one another!" at the end of her show. Isn't that what being human is all about? Wouldn't we be less hateful to one another if we just stopped to be kind. And if we can be kind to one another, shouldn't we be kind to animals?

Most times as humans we have the tendency to distant ourselves from issues that don't affect us directly. For example, who would care to hear that a herd of elephants died because they lost their habitat? Honestly, most of us wouldn't give it a second thought. I however, want to help change that because believe it or not, clearing out forest land to create farms may seem harmless and sure its helping develop our nations, but in the long run, we are just killing mother nature one tree at a time. And if mother nature dies....'we die'. See how the tables turn?

Every part of this world was created with purpose. Sure, we as humans are growing in population by the minute and in order to survive have to 'till the land', but should this be done at the expense of another's survival? In my previous posts, i must have tired your ears out with my insistence on why elephants need their land. And i'll say it again, elephants survival is tied to them being able to roam on their land and feed as much as their appetites needs them to. Sometimes we forget that we were created to enjoy the company of these animals. Did i say sometimes...i mean, all the time! In Biblical view, we were given the authority to care for these animals. Even those who don't believe in the existence of God can at least agree on this!

Elephants like any other wild animal survives on instincts, so when pushed to the wall, they push back. Hence the growing numbers of human deaths as a result of conflicts with elephants cannot be blamed on them. Due to the fragmentation of  their land, elephants are forced to flee to smaller lands and end up going in search of food from farms. This causes conflict as many are injured or die in an attempt to save their farms. They like us have to fight for their survival, even if its at the cost of a life.

Now that we know its primarily our fault as the human race that elephants habitats are being depleted, what can we do about it? There's a lot that can be done to ensure that more land is not converted to farmlands or in developing infrastructure. Through educating those involved in the act itself on the dangers of deforestation to not only the land but to the elephants, we can help reduce the rising cases in habitat loss. We can also support initiatives by environmental and conservation groups working endlessly to come up with ways to prevent this issue. By voicing our concerns through campaigns, someone is bound to stop and listen, right? Because at the end of the day, whose loss is it really when we deplete these animals habitats? Food for thought.

Anti-Poaching Units: Guardians Of Our Wildlife

This week I've dedicated these pages to speak out on everything poaching and everything anti-poaching. Maybe not everything yet...one thing remains...one thing of absolute importance to the fight against poaching...the anti-poaching unit! There is no anti-poaching ranger without a unit as there is no anti-poaching unit without a ranger. These men and women cannot fight singly...they need partners...and their partners need partners. That's why there's a unit. Battles like these are not a one man show, so to speak.

Anti-poaching units are established under law enforcement as a tool for protecting wildlife within
designated areas. Units are usually broken into patrols each with a patrol leader. Unit sizes usually depend on the designated area of responsibility, the threats within that area and resources. Not for the faint-hearted, the duties of a ranger include but is not limited to; patrolling a designated area, maintaining assertiveness against all poaching activities, arresting and apprehending poachers, removal of snares, rescuing trapped or injured wildlife and reporting wildlife movements.

There being a big number of wildlife lost in the wild and limited man power, these units work effortlessly stretching their limits for the protection of these animals. In the world of elephants, these men and women are heroes. Let me introduce you to two of these units:

1. Pro-Track Anti-Poaching Unit, South Africa
As their name suggests, these guys are 'pros' when it comes to everything anti-poaching. Established in 1992 as a first ever private unit, it has built a name for itself in the world of anti-poaching. Rangers joining this unit are required to undergo a four week training course that has been polished over the years by experienced professionals. As part of the curriculum, these men and women are required to complete courses in anti-poaching, security, first aid/ fire fighting, weapons and snake handling training. If successfully completed, the ranger is recruited and begins work! With physical capability and the heart of a lion (no pun intended whatsoever), these men and women are required to have the ability to perform their duties under immense pressure while maintaining team spirit!

Pro-Track's patrol teams include two members; a team leader and a scout. Armed with a firearm, they are deployed for 16 days and replaced with a fresh team upon completion. They perform duties such as patrols, removal of snares, marking way points and record game sightings. They work with GPS and radio back to reaction teams for assistance, all in a day's work!

2. Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit, Zimbabwe

VFAPU as commonly known, was established in 1999 by Charles Brightman, a professional guide, local safari operator and conservationist together with Victoria Falls Safari Lodge. This unit works in conjunction with the Zimbabwe National Parks, Wildlife Management Authority and the Zimbabwe Police to carry out anti-poaching duties. It has employed 18 full time scouts patrolling 50 square kilometers around the Falls. With duties focused on removal of snares and apprehension of poachers, they seek to do away with this act of terror! VFAPU among other things, is also focused on the education of locals in the benefits of conserving natural resources.

Faced with the challenge of growing the odds of conservation in a country devoid of socio-economic stability, VFAPU have sought to rise the wildlife industry from the ashes and forge on, all in belief that their work is not in vain!

These two units are just but a small representation of various organisations running anti-poaching units within a larger framework. These two are but testimony to what the wildlife industry is all about, the wildlife. Despite their numbers or sizes of their pockets, they are before the elephant's eyes, guardian angels :)

Anti- Poaching Rangers: Soldiers In Combat; The War Is Real

Odd title you might say...but what if i told you that rangers and soldiers are not all that different, only that their battles are. Rangers exist to fight poachers, soldiers fight for protection of a country. Now does it make sense? There's one problem though, both these men and women go through the same torturous battle but only one is geared up to survive. Know which one? That's right....the soldier!

Rangers go into battle everyday putting their lives in the line for the protection of our beloved wildlife but one thing remains...they are only to fire in self defense and as a last resort! Only in the likely scenario that a poacher pulls out fire is a ranger allowed to shoot back. They are to engage in pursuit and arrest, shooting them should only come second to none. Needless to say, killing another human being should never come naturally...it is at the end of the day..murder and with it comes consequences. The death of even one poacher results in hard investigation by police putting strain on
the ranger that may lead to he or she always being on the defensive!

As i pointed out yesterday, poachers, just like rangers are men out to feed their families. They are just a small but crucial part of  highly organized crime networks which has made it all impossible to fight it! Just like a supply chain, poaching has to be fought from the root up! The ring leaders and brains behind these criminal activities are the real villains of the story! That's why bringing in poachers alive is crucial to every ranger because it means this chain can be tracked down and be fully abolished! If even one poacher is killed, an entire network might never be found and the battle is in vain!

Rangers face various difficulty in combat...in fact, these same wildlife they protect could at any moment turn on them! They also face harsh working conditions whenever they go out in battle. The temperatures may not be all favoring but they have to do their work tirelessly. Rangers endure torturous ordeals such as the encounter of mutilated bodies of the wildlife they so passionately protect. These encounters remind them of their shortcomings and can lead to feelings of anger and frustration. The worst kind of torture they undergo, just like a soldier, is the loss of a fellow ranger. The feeling of loss and helplessness bottled inside leads to post traumatic stress that if not addressed could lead to terminal conditions.

Many rangers have gone into the battle field never to arise again. Killed in the line of duty, these men and women leave behind loved ones. Some of their families face an unlikely future as death has robbed them of their bread winner. These and many other situations in the lives of these brave men and women are not to be taken lightly. It is because of their endless effort that endangered animals such as elephants live to see another day. With inadequate equipment, training or pay, these men and women in their pursuit for justice, battle this evil even unto death!

These men and women come to face with fear but put on the armour of courage for the protection of wildlife. They risk their lives and undergo strenuous levels of frustration but still face another day in the battle field. No amount of words can be said to these men and women to show our gratitude. We can only pray that they live to see another day. We can only help support the battle because the war is indeed real!

*Dedicated to the brave men and women in combat for the protection of wildlife.