There is a reasonably thoughtful article in The Telegraph (London) on the elephant situation in Africa and Asia:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/man-vs-elephant/

It closes with this quote:

quote:

“I don’t know if it is because with civilisation, people come to consider animals more important than human beings, or that some people are making so much money from the animals,” Dorcus Shamakuni, whose brother was trampled to death in May.

“But if an animal kills a human being, with relatives, with children to look after, it is just ‘oh, he was very unfortunate. What a shame.’ And if a human kills an animal it is some kind of tragedy, it is news all over the world.”

Sadly true, and well said, Mr. Shamakuni.

They are fun to watch and photograph, but they are also freakin destructive. We lose three solar pumps ($2,200 each) a year, 5 to 8 solar panels a year ($150 each) a dozen game cameras ($125 each) a year, several kilometers of fence every year, corrals, skinning sheds - they love the salt, tents, water tanks, signs, wiring, telephone poles, and this year one radio tower.

Fortunately, we can absorb the expense because elephants bring hunters, photographers, and tourists to offset their destruction. But the average guy living in a village is FUBAR when the elephants show up. Their cuteness wears off damn quick.