CONSERVATION
Poachers will wipe out SA’s elephants next
Elephant poaching in Kenya has plummeted 90% and there is a 95% conviction rate of poachers and ivory traders
Elephants are renowned for their intelligence, which might explain why there are so many of them in Kenya. On a continent where wildlife slaughter is rampant, Kenya’s conservation record is extraordinary. Elephant poaching has plummeted 90% and there is a 95% conviction rate of poachers and ivory traders, who can be sentenced to 20 years in jail. However, Kenya’s success has driven the poachers to SA. WildlifeDirect founder and Kenyan conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu was in SA this month to investigate ways of replicating Kenya’s success. She warns that elephants are threatened with extinction, with an average of 96 killed every day — one every 15 minutes. "Elephants move across borders. They are part of our African identity and it’s really important that we demand that our governments take action to keep our animals safe," she says. "We need to create an army of conservationists across Africa and create a sense of duty for saving our species. And we’re trying to create global aware...
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