Newselephant poachinguk newsDemocratic Republic of Congo

Slaughter Of Elephants By Poachers Is 'Unprecedented' As 68 Die In DRC Park

The Slaughter Of Elephants By Poachers Is 'Unprecedented'
The Huffington Post UK
|

Poachers who went on a bloody rampage through one of Africa's older national parks have killed 68 elephants in two months, slaughtering with guns from helicopters

Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being targeted "on all fronts," its manager said, with ivory poachers including Congolese soldiers and militia from South Sudan who threw grenades at park guards, and they have already killed 4% of its elephants. It is believed to be fueled by a rise in demand for ivory from Asia, and could see the most violent spike in elephant slaughter in decades.

"The situation is extremely serious," Garamba park manger Jean-Marc Froment told the Associated Press. "The park is under attack on all fronts."

Open Image Modal

Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being targeted "on all fronts," its manager said

The elephants have had their tusks hacked off with chainsaws, as well as their brains and genitals removed. Baby elephants, who do not have the valuable ivory tusks, have also been killed, suggest the attacks are indiscriminate.

Story continues below slideshow

Top 10 Endangered Species That Need Our Help
Asian Elephant(01 of10)
Open Image Modal
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are currently listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, meaning they are "facing a high risk of extinction in the wild."World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are between 41,410 and 52,345 Asian elephants in the wild.HuffPost blogger Wendy Diamond writes that besides deforestation and industrialization, landmines also threaten Asian elephants in the wild. The founder of an elephant park in Thailand claims he "has known about 20 elephants who stepped on land mines and died" since 1989.Efforts to raise awareness for elephants' fragile status include Elephant Appreciation Day. (credit:David Lawson/WWF-UK)
Javan Rhino(02 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is very close to extinction. There are believed to be as few as 40 left in the wild in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia and none are currently in captivity. The IUCN Red List currently lists Javan rhinos as critically endangered.In October, poachers killed the last remaining Javan rhino in Vietnam. Several were alive in the wild in Vietnam as recently as 2004.A survey of surviving Javan rhinos in Indonesia found that there are very few females in the population. (credit:WWF Greater Mekong)
Snow Leopard(03 of10)
Open Image Modal
Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. IUCN estimates that there are 4,080 to 6,590 snow leopards in the wild.A subspecies, the Amur leopard is critically endangered. Native to the Russian Far East and northern China, there are fewer than 50 left in the wild.In July, cameras recorded snow leopards in 16 different locations in northeastern Afghanistan. (credit:Bruce W. Bunting/WWF-US)
Tiger(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
Tigers (Panthera tigris) are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. According to WWF, there are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild.In November, Interpol launched a campaign to save tigers in the 13 Asian countries where they still exist, reported the Associated Press. There were around 100,000 tigers in Asia in 1900. (credit:David Lawson/WWF-UK)
Irrawaddy Dolphin(05 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Irrawaddy dolpin (Orcaella brevirostris), which is native to Southeast Asia, is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Mekong River subpopulation, however, is listed as critically endangered.According to WWF, there are only 85 of these dolphins left in Southeast Asia. The limited range of this animal along with killing by fisherman has left Irrawaddy dolphin populations in danger. (credit:David Dove/WWF Greater Mekong)
Vaquita(06 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a small porpoise native to the Gulf of California. It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.WWF estimates that there are around 245 vaquita left in the wild. They are most immediately threatened by "entanglement in fishing gear." Fortunately, WWF helped authorities in Mexico to reduce bycatch of vaquita to a "level that does not threaten the population" by 2009. (credit:WWF-US/Eugene Lee)
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. According to WWF, they are threatened by overfishing.A report from October found that eastern Atlantic bluefin is traded at twice the amount catch quotas actually allow.In August, it was reported that Mitsubishi executives planned to buy up tons of bluefin and freeze it to profit from impending population collapses. (credit:naturepl.com/Visuals Unlimited/WWF)
Mountain Gorilla (subspecies of Eastern Gorilla)(08 of10)
Open Image Modal
The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.WWF explains that there are estimated to be about 786 individuals left in the two mountain gorilla populations near the Uganda-Rwanda-DRC and in a national park in Uganda. However, the two populations have grown by 14 and 12 percent, respectively, in the past decade.Armed conflicts and natural resource exploitation have been blamed for endangering the gorilla populations. (credit:Martin Harvey/WWF-Canon)
Sumatran Orangutan(09 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. According to WWF, they are the most endangered of the two orangutan species and there are about 7,500 Sumatran Orangutans left in the wild.Native only to parts of Sumatra, Indonesia, the orangutans are threatened by human agricultural and residential development.A recent study found that residents of Borneo killed at least 750 endangered orangutans in a one-year period. "Born To Be Wild," a recent IMAX film, tells the story of caretakers who are raising orphaned orangutans. (credit:Peter Hofland/WWF-Canon)
Leatherback Turtle(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. According to WWF, there are about 34,000 nesting females left in the world and populations in the Atlantic are relatively stable. In the Pacific, however, there may be as few as 2,300 adult females. Their wide geographical distribution and shallow dive depth means they are threatened by longline fishing operations, explains WWF. A study from September found that although the number of sea turtles killed in U.S. fisheries has declined by 90 percent since 1990, it may not be enough to sustain sea turtle populations.In August, a 700-pound leatherback washed up on the shore at Montauk, New York. (credit:Jürgen Freund/WWF-Canon)

The Lord's Resistance Army, famed for their rabid pursuit of child soldiers, are said to be key culprits. They are led by warlord Joseph Kony, the subject of the viral Kony 2012 campaign that drew attention to the crimes committed by the marauding militia.

A spokeswoman for African Parks, Cynthia Walley, said: "It's pretty well documented that Garamba is one of the few remaining places where you get these large herds of elephants.

"The supply of elephants in some parts of Africa for poachers has diminished. So in areas where you are protecting elephants you become a target." The park has beefed up its security, she said, but the onslaught of poaching was "unprecedented."

The spectacular rise in poaching in the DRC has been echoed elsewhere. Poachers have killed one of the world’s largest elephants, the bull Satao famed for tusks that almost reach the ground, in Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.

Conservationists said Satao had intentionally hid in bushes to conceal his 45kg tusks but was found with his face hacked off and tusks removed.

Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip