Selous: The killing fields

From This Day News
October 26, 2009



TANZANIA’S wildlife sanctuaries, particularly the world-famous Selous Game Reserve, have now been turned into vast killing fields where hundreds of elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory, it has been revealed.

There has been a fresh spike in elephant poaching in recent years, with some disgruntled game wardens either turning a blind eye to illegal hunting activities or themselves taking part in killing the same animals they were hired to protect.

”An average of 50 elephants are being killed in the Selous each month...and that is a conservative estimate,” an official working in the game park told THISDAY last week.

”Sometimes, authorities torch the carcasses of elephants that have been killed by poachers to conceal the truth about the extent of the problem,� he added.

Ironically, as the country buckles under this latest wave of elephant poaching, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism now wants the ban on ivory trade lifted.

Tanzania and Zambia have jointly petitioned the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to further open up the trade by allowing them to sell off their ivory stocks.

The CITES ban on ivory trade was imposed some 20 years ago. Animal rights campaigners say the ban has been instrumental in allowing the elephant population in Tanzania to recover from the massive poaching of the 1980s.

Impeccable sources with many years of working experience in the Selous, which is Africa�s largest protected wildlife reserve, have confirmed that not less than 50 elephants are killed monthly by hardcore poachers in collaboration with ”an army of demoralized game scouts.”

”Poachers have colonized the Selous and the game scouts are aiding and abetting the killings,” said the sources who requested anonymity, saying poaching is a sensitive issue that sometimes involved powerful and dangerous syndicates.

The sources say the wildlife division in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism used to pay game scouts a working allowance of between 250,000/- and 300,000/- a month, but due to a razor-thin budget that allowance was suspended a couple of years ago.

Another source said he counted 60 carcases of the jumbos on roads within the Selous game reserve in the period between January and October this year.

�There is organized poaching masterminded by demoralized game scouts, which is more dangerous than the previous poaching of the 1980s,� said the sources, warning that if the government does not take urgent measures to arrest the trend, �we will have no elephants in two years to come�.

�The ministry (of Natural Resources and Tourism) is literally crippled and the anti-poaching unit is in the ICU (intensive care unit), because it has completely failed to control poaching,� said the sources.

They named Miguruwe (Kilwa district), Matambwe (Morogoro South), Liwale (Lindi region), Msola (Morogoro region), Ilonga (Mahenge), Kingupira (Utete), and Mtemere (Rufiji) as most affected sections within the Selous.

The sources said the game scouts used to patrol most parts of the game reserve on a weekly basis, but nowadays patrols may not be done for up to three months, allowing poachers to massacre the jumbos at will.

A source from the Kilwa open area situated adjacent to the Selous game reserve said he spotted 17 carcases of elephants between May and June this year.

�Kilwa was once renowned for its giant elephants. But you can hardly see those nowadays. They are gone. Elephant poaching is now a daily business,� said the source.

Abdallah Kanunga (49), chairman of the Magingo wildlife management area embracing nine villages situated in Selous game reserve buffer zones in Liwale district, said elephant poaching is no longer done secretly.

Other sources said the government should make anti-poaching a life-or-death matter otherwise �we will lose even the foreign exchange we are getting from foreign tourists because they will stop visiting Tanzania if there are no animals to see.�

The sources suggested the transfer of game scouts from their current work stations within the Selous game reserve, and recruitment of new scouts.

They also suggested the revival of Operation Uhai, which involved soldiers of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces in fighting poaching in the 1980s.

The worst period of elephant poaching experienced in the country was probably 1977-87, when the elephant population dwindled from 184,000 to 55,000.

A joint crusade mounted by TPDF, the wildlife department, police and customs authorities resulted in the confiscation of more than 10,000 guns and at least 700 people prosecuted in connection with poaching activities in 1988 alone.

Tanzania is the leading country in illegally slaughtering and exporting of ivory in Africa, a new scientific research has revealed.

In March this year, authorities in Vietnam seized 6.3 tons of ivory originating from Tanzania, followed by another 2 tons, also coming from Tanzania, seized in August.

Between January and September, nearly 24 tons of ivory was confiscated worldwide. In the meantime, black-market prices for raw ivory continue to rocket, exceeding $1,000 a kilogramme, according to reports.

Contacted for comment, the current director of wildlife in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Erasmus Tarimo, said the reports of elephant poaching in the Selous were exaggerated.

�A recent aerial count found 41 carcases of elephants. But 41 dead elephants is minimal compared to the total Selous elephant population of around 40,000,� he said, adding that some elephants had died of natural causes.

Tarimo said: �Our intention is to have zero poaching, but to maintain zero poaching is impossible. It is not easy to control poaching 100 per cent.�

He also acknowledged reports of demoralized game wardens participating in the poaching activities, saying: �It is very difficult to pin down those wardens involved in the malpractice.�

Tarimo called on people with information about game scouts involved in poaching to come forward and give such information to relevant authorities so that preventive action can be taken.

These organized Tanzanian poachers also cross the River into Mozambique to carry on their illegal activities there, too.

I wish a couple of companies of 1800 vintage Texas Rangers could time machine back into the Selous
and deal with these bastards the only way they understand. African and corruption - a way of life.

It just never seems to improve. Not for long, anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
These organized Tanzanian poachers also cross the River into Mozambique to carry on their illegal activities there, too.

And its even easier now with the new bridge at the border crossing to the north eastern corner of the Niassa Reserve.
Not to mention all the Chinese contractors working in this area.

The problem with these reports is you can't tell who the biggest liar might be.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
The problem with these reports is you can't tell who the biggest liar might be.

From what I have see while hunting in Tanzania, poaching is rampant there, and from all indications, the government is doing very little about it.

In fact, they seem to be putting as many obstacles in the way of private hunting companies who are trying to stop it as they can.

In Ugalla we found several wood cutting operations every day. Next to some we found the bones of small and large animals, including hippo.

During our time there 5 elephants were killed by poachers.

This problem has passed the stage where it was "serious".

It is absolutely critical now that they should do something about it, or their cash cow of trophy hunting is going to run dry.

Time to reintroduce rule .303 on a serious scale.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Will:
The problem with these reports is you can't tell who the biggest liar might be.

From what I have see while hunting in Tanzania, poaching is rampant there, and from all indications, the government is doing very little about it.

In fact, they seem to be putting as many obstacles in the way of private hunting companies who are trying to stop it as they can.

In Ugalla we found several wood cutting operations every day. Next to some we found the bones of small and large animals, including hippo.

During our time there 5 elephants were killed by poachers.

This problem has passed the stage where it was "serious".

It is absolutely critical now that they should do something about it, or their cash cow of trophy hunting is going to run dry.

Poaching is rampant pretty much everywhere, just worse in Tanz apparently.

If the Chinese are funding the ivory poaching, the funds generated by trophy fees will pale in comparison to the Chinese GDP.

We all know poaching is rampant, and we all say something needs to be done, extra .303's etc, add to the light hearted humour we throw at it.

But let's get serious with our thoughts for a moment.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK WE CAN HONESTLY DO TO CURB THE ISSUE?

Not a lot without the Government Political will to tackle the matter and genuinely support the Private Sectors efforts!

Which would mean wildlife is doomed.

In principle yes if the staus quo remains; first the non-protected areas and then GR, gradually over time bar a handful. National parks may be the only places where it will survive!

This September in R3 block of Selous, we went to the Great Ruaha River to check our crocodile bait no big crocodile there but we heard some people talking, on examination we found that across the river in R2 block poachers had caught a hippo in their snare and they were busy cutting it. This poaching activity was not more than 800 yards down river from the R2 Safari camp, which shows that the poachers are not that scared, they are prepared to poach even close to more frequented parts of Selous.

(This picture is from our Croc blind)

Their blatant complacency and carefree attitude is tantamount to proving nothing sinister would happen to them if they are caught.

Maybe it is time to let them know the wildlife on this planet coexists with all of us, not just them. As humans we have a right to protect animals wherever they may be, so eliminating poachers as a problem may be the solution....now if only we could get the liberal folks out there to agree...mmmmmm.

This is truly a sad situation and one that needs to be addressed directly and in a very timely manner.

I for one think that poaching is the result of the power brokers of a particular country neglecting their population, thereby rendering them powerless and then exploiting them for personal gain....Same old story huh.

Direct action against poachers is a noble but only temporary fix on a part of what is a larger, much more sinister agenda; overwhelming government corruption. Taking on the poachers is a good and necessary plan of action, but not a sustainable solution.

A top down fix is mandated - everybody knows this, but of late there is no order in going about mitigating the problem. Too many forces at work in this scenario.

Now we have a new subset aiding and abeting to the new poaching paradign - Political Correctness. This Euro-American syndrome started in the 70s and is by default dooming both the people and wildlife of Africa. Corrupt governments now run amuck and nobody of any consequence has the will to call them out. The western world just dumps "feel-good" money on these regimes in hopes that somebody will acknowledge their efforts and give them some kind of award, etc.

Africa is out of control and is close to chaos as it gets. The continent is well past its ability to sustain itself without a full-on assault on the environment. The whole place is infected with the "I want it all and I want it now" flu - That my friends is the crux of the matter.

We may not agree with the way our government runs things, but at least we have some say in the matter - not the case in Africa. AND until that changes it will only get worse.

This is tough to swallow, but that is my take on the matter having been there and seen for myself.

My hat's off to those who are trying to make a difference, it is an uphill battle - May god be with them!

Very good points and a very good post, Jeff!!

It's frustrating, to say the least, to see this happening and not be able to do a damn thing about it!!!

God bless those that are on the ground over there fighting the good fight....you have your work cut out for you.

Regards,
Scott

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Sultan:
This September in R3 block of Selous, we went to the Great Ruaha River to check our crocodile bait no big crocodile there but we heard some people talking, on examination we found that across the river in R2 block poachers had caught a hippo in their snare and they were busy cutting it. This poaching activity was not more than 800 yards down river from the R2 Safari camp, which shows that the poachers are not that scared, they are prepared to poach even close to more frequented parts of Selous.

Is R2 the area PVT hunts?