Elephant population 'growing'
07/02/2008 07:20 - (SA)

Kampala - The elephant population in Uganda's wildlife reserves and game parks has been growing steadily since the near depletion of the giant mammals under the regime of late dictator Idi Amin, and they now number about 5 000 a top conservation official said on Wednesday.

Ecologists say during the late 1960s, jungles in the east African country's wilderness were teeming with over 30 000 elephants, in both gazetted areas and elephant migratory corridors.

When Army general Amin seized power in a military coup in 1971, elephants were hunted down for ivory with impunity by both his security forces and marauding poachers during the bloody lawlessness that characterised the dictator's eight-year regime.

Surviving elephants fled to neighbouring Congo. The animals were not protected at all, the acting director of the state-owned Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Sam Mwandha told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

By the time Amin's regime fell, the elephant population had dwindled to 2 000.

"Aggressive conservation efforts and political commitment to protect the elephants in their six main wildlife protected areas has increased their numbers during the past 20 years," Mwandha said.

"There were over 30 000 elephants in the 1960s. The number of elephants was 2 000 in 1982 and 2 500 between 1999-2002.

"As we talk now, we are estimating the numbers to be between 4 000 and 5 000 and the same trend applies to hippos and buffaloes. We are seeing the numbers going up with time although it might be difficult to get to the 1960s levels," he said.

Well-armed game rangers at Uganda's 12 national game parks and wildlife reserves have been vigilant in protecting the elephants.

The largest number of elephants - about 3 000 - are found in the Queen Elizabeth National Park that lies on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). During the chaotic Amin days, the elephants fled this park fled to the adjoining Virunga National Park in eastern Congo.

The Ugandan army has been protecting some of the 1 000 elephants in Murchison Falls National park in the northern region where Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been fighting a 20-year rebellion and have a habit of infiltrating the park for game meat.

"We work together and share information. We are working with the community and we discuss with them how we can better manage the protection of the animals in these areas and how they can benefit. We get intelligence information from the community about potential poachers," Mwandha said.

Elephants, which have been classified as endangered by the international conservation community, are a major contributor to Uganda's tourist sector which grows at around 25% annually, with over 500 000 tourists visiting the country every year.

Sapa-dpa