World's Largest Elephant Killed

[Olden]

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It's sad to think that even best efforts couldn't protect him: the world is indeed a smaller place!
http://www.theguardian.com/environme...ed-by-poachers
PBS: The Battle for the Elephants

http://video.pbs.org/video/2336802391/

[tomclark]

Makes me sick to think of what has happened during my lifetime, including this horrific ending.  One park had 20,000 elephants in 1960, now only 2000.  Wish that was people!
I'm glad I'm gonna be gone before the real crap hits the fan.  I only worry for the future of kids these days.  Thanks for the link.

[gregszybala]

Yes to that Tom.

[spanky]

Just read this sad story and saw another one saying some 90 or so were killed in the parks over the last few months. It's a shame.

[CMD]

Maybe someday people will understand there are intelligent and empathic beings on Earth other then humans. Or do we really even qualify as an intelligent and empathic species? They know we want their tusks. I can make a very good argument that we are living in the Dark Ages.

[clovisoid]

The sad thing is that we know the countries that buy all of the poached ivory, and could apply pressure through trade sanctions if people would get behind it.  Most of this stuff is taken to China or a couple of other countries in Southeast Asia and sold openly.  A poor country in Africa isn't going to make China enforce the international agreements they have signed, but stopping the imports of a single product probably could...  (Christmas lights, patio furniture, plastic spatulas, etc.)
The same thing for whales harvested by Japan.
No offense intended towards Chinese consumers of these things (tiger parts, ivory, etc.) but expecting them to care about the extinction of a species isn't going to happen.  We did the same thing to the bison herds, and although many people at the time spoke out against the massive slaughter, it didn't really impact peoples thinking on the subject.

[CMD]

I suppose I am hoping for a time that will never arrive. The day mankind realizes we share this orb with other intelligent, emotive, empathic beings who have as much "right" to exist as we do. I do not regard human beings as a "higher" form. People do, because people believe our "intelligence" seperate us.  No, it does not, what separates us is extreme self-consciousness, that causes us to say: "who are we, where did we come from, where are we going?" We have an "existential" consciousness. Do you think animals agonize over their existence as we can? Do animals have existential crisis?  We may be the only life form on Earth with that type of consciousness.  I would put the poachers and smugglers to death, as a deterrent. Poach an elephant, caught in the act, or in the trade, you are put to death. Period. We are killing intelligent beings and we operate under the illusion that we are the "highest" form of life on Earth. We are not the "highest" form. We are a dominant form of life, with the ability to alter the Earth for all life. Our self consciousness serves to separate us from the natural world; it tricks us into believing we are the apex of evolution. It tricks us into believing we are "special" and animals are somehow "less special". Balderdash!! Someone expressed the opinion to me recently that God created the Earth and all life on it for our benefit. All such a philosophy has done is ensure that we will have a sociopathic, psychopathic relationship with other life. They are here for us, and we can do with them as we please. Bull!!!! If I had a choice between elephants being driven to extinction in this fashion, for their ivory, or mankind's extinction, I go with the latter, so that the living beings that know how to live on this orb can do so without the presence of what is likely the greatest failed experiment in evolution: human beings. That majestic being, who hid his tusks because he knew they endangered him, was murdered.

[kreative]

Posted by [GarScale]:

WOW! Im an animal lover as well as a hunter and fisherman. I also believe GOD gave man dominion over all the animals. Along with that comes responsibility for them. Thousands of species have gone extinct over the millions of years with no influence from man. Choosing mans extinction over elephants wouldn't change that.
Now back to this elephant.... he was ancient and at the end of his natural life cycle. There is not one shred of evidence that he was poached although it is quite possible. Its very likely that a park employee found him dead and got his extremely valuable tusks.
Legal hunting and harvest of elephants has been their salvation. Villagers killed them for ivory first and then to protect crops. American dollars t hunt them made elephants more valuable as a living resource than their watermelon field.  Even though numbers are lower than they were 100 years ago, many regions are above their holding capacity because the native vegetation is gone. Herd numbers MUST be controlled in order to keep them healthy by LEGAL means.
If all hunting and poaching was immediately stopped, in 10 years, there would be a huge crisis for the rebounding elephant herds.

[Olden]

clovisoid wrote:

The sad thing is that we know the countries that buy all of the poached ivory, and could apply pressure through trade sanctions if people would get behind it.  Most of this stuff is taken to China or a couple of other countries in Southeast Asia and sold openly.  A poor country in Africa isn't going to make China enforce the international agreements they have signed, but stopping the imports of a single product probably could...  (Christmas lights, patio furniture, plastic spatulas, etc.)

  Roger that. It's never going to stop unless we hit China in their wallet.

[Olden]

GarScale wrote:


He was ancient and at the end of his natural life cycle. There is not one shred of evidence that he was poached although it is quite possible. Its very likely that a park employee found him dead and got his extremely valuable tusks.
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Being that old Santo was shot with poison arrows in March, I think it more probably that he was stalked and murdered by a poacher: maybe with a silent bow again? His enormous 'ground sweeper' tusks put a bulls eye on him, and like you say, he may have been 'sold out' by a game warden.
Kenya’s bid to protect her wildlife still sloppy, 50 years into self-rule (2013)

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/m/story.php?articleID=2000098425&story_title=Kenyas-bid-to-protect-her-wildlife-still-sloppy-50-years-into-self-rule

[Olden]

Poach an elephant, caught in the act, or in the trade, you are put to death. Period
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Charlie, I thought they were doing that already - evidently it's not working!
Kenya rangers shoot dead five suspected poachers (2012)

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-17798914

and, speaking of psychopathic relationships: here's a comparison of what can happen when the family is 'culled'.

http://thesestonewalls.com/gordon-macrae/in-the-absence-of-fathers-a-story-of-elephants-and-men/

On a brighter note: new elephant sanctuarys are being created

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHLnZvHZA04

[kreative]

Posted by [GarScale]:

Good post Olden. There was never any indication he was shot with poison arrows either. He had two sores on his hip that could have been caused a million ways other than arrows. He wasn't sick either and the sores healed up. More than likely the wounds were caused by another elephant.  Most of that article is just emotional blabber and baseless in fact. Statements like "he hid his tusks because he knew they made him a target". Hogwash. He very likely became more elusive due to attempts to poach him but where is the evidence he learned his tusks were wanted?
At the end of the day, he was a very , very old elephant at the end of his natural life cycle whether he was killed by an arrow or died of natural causes, the result is the same. He was far past being a dominant bull and breeding rights. Nature was ready to remove him to make way for the next dominant bull. Such is life....
Kenya needs to quickly get a hand on poaching! Lots of cash flow makes for easy ivory deals. Legal hunting is the ONLY way the poaching can be stopped.

[Olden]

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Yeah, news stories are filled with baseless emotional blabber at times that will distort the truth to sell copy, but sometimes it may be exactly what the doctor called for to stir people up for a (disappearing) just cause.
I understand your argument of protection through legal hunting/management, but does this mean that nothing can die a peaceful, natural death?

[kreative]

Posted by [GarScale]:

I think that's what Im getting at....there is nothing peaceful in a natural death. Its ugly and ruthless. An ancient old elephant gets geriatric and the other bulls beat the crap out of him and excommunicate him from his own herd. He wants to rejoin the family he has known all his life but they wont let him. He gets gored in his flanks as he retreats. His teeth get bad and he slowly starves to death while there is food all around him. Finally, he is so weak he cant defend himself and lions or hyenas tear into his hind quarters and start eating him alive. Too weak to fight, yet strong enough to live, this may go on for two days before he finally bleeds out and dies. The entire process may take months of misery.
We don't want to think about this but that is exactly how elephants die of old age. He was at the end of his life. I wish his tusks were salvaged and displayed at the park head quarters. In all likelihood, they were sold by park officers for a couple of years salary. Even that is better than slowly sinking into the marsh to never be seen again.
Thanks for posting the story. He was a giant old tusker. I hope poachers didn't get him and profit from it!

[5foot5]

WOW ...its horrible that anyone could kill an elephant for his tusks...I also think its horrible that our government takes all the confiscated ivory and has a huge bonfire with it...I don't understand why they do that...would it possibly prevent more elephants from dying if the ivory was not burned and maybe allowed 2 be purchased 4 a lot of money?...who knows :dunno: