Tunde FolawiyoElephant poaching in Africa | Tunde Folawiyo
The African Elephant is now considered to be critically endangered. A study by a group of researchers at the University of Washington in 2009 found that the rate of elephant deaths caused by poaching has been steadily increasing each year, despite the fact that the trading of ivory has been banned in most countries since 1989. One of the researchers, Samuel Wasser, warned that the African elephant could become extinct in as little as 10 years, if drastic measures were not taken to protect this species. This news is likely to come as a shock to Tunde Folawiyo, and others interested in wildlife conservation.
Whilst the ivory trade is responsible for a huge number of elephant deaths each year, this is not the only cause of the decline in this species’ population numbers. As humans continue to expand their farms and villages, the elephant’s habitats have become increasingly contracted, to the point where conflict between these creatures and humans is now commonplace in many African countries.
With this being said, the ivory trade is still the main threat to elephants. Illegal wildlife trafficking yields revenues of several billion dollars every year, making it the fourth largest criminal activity in the world. Poachers who collaborate with criminal networks kill approximately 35,000 elephants each year, and the ivory market in Africa continues to thrive. Although conservation groups have been working with African governments for many years, limited resources, coupled with the often inaccessible, remote habitats which elephants reside in, make it difficult to protect and monitor herds.
Whilst elephants are worthy of protection by conservationists, simply due to the fact that they are a unique, fascinating and intelligent species, they must also be protected because of the impact their extinction would have on other creatures. They help to create and maintain habitats which many other animals live in. Additionally, they carry out the dispersal and germination process for at least one third of all tree species in African forests; in their absence, many flora and fauna could also die off.
On a more positive note, the US government is now doing its part to prevent any further poaching of African elephants. Conservation enthusiasts like Tunde Folawiyo may be pleased to hear that the Obama Administration is implementing the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking; this initiative will include the banning of the importation and exportation of elephant ivory.
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