Official: 5 Elephants Killed In Kenya
Official: 5 Elephants Killed In Southeastern Kenya In Past 6 Weeks

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb. 23, 2009

(AP) Poachers seeking ivory have killed five elephants in southeastern Kenya in the past six weeks, a government wildlife official said Monday.

The elephants were killed in the Tsavo East National Park and its surrounding areas in southeastern Kenya, said Jonathan Kirui, an assistant director of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

"This is the highest number elephants killed at this park in recent times for their tusks in such a short period," Kirui told The Associated Press.

Kirui, whose area of responsibility includes the park, said informers have told the wildlife agency that the price of a kilogram of ivory in Kenya rose to between 3,000 and 4,000 shillings ($37 and $50) in 2008. A year earlier a kilogram of ivory sold for 1,000-2,000 shillings.

James Isiche of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said his organization is concerned the latest reports could portend a return to the elephant poaching era of the 1970s and 1980s, when poachers devastated Kenya's elephant population.

The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, imposed a global ban on the ivory trade in 1989 and Kenya reformed its wildlife conservation department to form the current Kenya Wildlife Service, helping to reduce poaching. But the current estimated population of 30,000 is still less than a fifth of the 1973 estimate of 167,000.

"The situation is dire, and needs to be arrested before it escalates further. We believe that there is a strong correlation between this upsurge and the ivory stockpiles sales allowed by CITES that were done in late 2008," said Isiche.

He was referring to an auction in November when South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe were granted a one-time exemption from the global ivory ban because of their thriving elephant herds.

Funny, in countries that allow hunting the Elephant herds are growing or stable......but good ol' Kenya is losing them fast.

"It's Africa, Baby".

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
Funny, in countries that allow hunting the Elephant herds are growing or stable......but good ol' Kenya is losing them fast.

"It's Africa, Baby".

Could be too that Kenya is the only subsahara country with a sizeable population of Eles that has a completely outlaw country on its border, I speak of course of Somalia, home to the biggest collection of pirates & bandits on the African continent & well documented thru history as Ivory poachers.
Steve

Since Kenya closed hunting they have lost close to 70% of there wildlife.

So, let's see, five elephants killed by poachers in the last six weeks, plus the 137,000 killed by poachers in the last thirty-odd years since the Kenyan government banned hunting, equals 137,005, right?

I fear it is far too late for even the most enlightened policies to save the wild game of Kenya.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:

"The situation is dire, and needs to be arrested before it escalates further. We believe that there is a strong correlation between this upsurge and the ivory stockpiles sales allowed by CITES that were done in late 2008," said Isiche.

He was referring to an auction in November when South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe were granted a one-time exemption from the global ivory ban because of their thriving elephant herds.

No words explain it better than this

Kenya has noticed that when they have Chinese construction workers in an area (such as building roads) the ivory poaching goes up. They also believe the CITES ivory sale "rebooted" the ivory demand.

All the Kenyan government needs to do to find the culprits is look in a real big mirror.

Right now the animals have no value in Kenya... They were doomed when the World Bank said back in the 70's do you want our money, then outlaw hunting...
The results are simple... Less animals and hunting is outlawed... Poaching runs wild...

Mike