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THE BIZNOB – Global Business & Financial News – A Business Journal – Focus On Business Leaders, Technology – Enterpeneurship – Finance – Economy – Politics & LifestyleTHE BIZNOB – Global Business & Financial News – A Business Journal – Focus On Business Leaders, Technology – Enterpeneurship – Finance – Economy – Politics & Lifestyle

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Poachers Kill One of the Largest Elephants in Kenya

This past Friday, Jun.13, the Tsavo Trust reported that one of the oldest and largest elephants in Kenya’s Tsavo Conservation area was killed by poachers. It is likely that the elephant, named Satao, had been the largest bull elephant in the entire world.

The most recent figures from the Kenya Wildlife Service estimate that 97 elephants have been poached in Kenya this year. However, much of Kenya’s population are in denial of such a massive number. Paula Kahumbu asserts in The Guardian that, “I estimate, from the reports I have seen, that the elephant poaching in Kenya is at least 10 times the official figures.”

According to Tsavo reports, Satao was shot on May 30 with a poison arrow in Tsavo National Park, which resides in southeast Kenya. No definitive identifications could be made until Jun. 13, however.

In Mar. another attempt had been made to kill Satao with a poisoned arrow. Tsavo Trust subsequently reported that the Kenya Wildlife Service was arrested as the chief poison dealer and supplier in Kilifi. Such poison has been linked to numerous elephant deaths.

It is estimated that Satao was born around the late 1960s. Since Satao had tusks that weighed over 100 pounds, he was an ideal target for poachers seeking ivory. Satao’s tusks even touched the ground. When Satao was found, the poachers had cut off his face and taken his ivory. His carcass had two massive holes remaining where his tusks had once been. His face was so extensively mutilated that officials had to use his body for identification.

Satao was a victim of an illegal ivory trade. This business has internationally doubled since 2007. The United States is one of the top markets for unregulated means of purchasing ivory. Meanwhile, China is the largest market and other Asian countries contribute to driving the demand. Armed groups are capitalizing on the growing value of ivory by killing elephants to trade their tusks for arms and ammunition. According to conservation groups around 30 thousand African elephants are killed annually in recent years because of the growing ivory trade.

Support and aid in stopping poaching is urgent. Fortunately, this issue has been making its way into the mainstream media recently. Leonardo DiCaprio donated 1$ million to the Elephant Crisis Fund. Upon depositing his donation, DiCaprio stated, “The decimation of these animals is something we have the power to stop, and the Elephant Crisis Fund is a crucial part of the solution.”

Wildlife filmmaker, Mark Deeble, noticed that Satao had indicated an awareness of his large tusks and how they made him a target. Deeble picked up on how Satao would pace around bushes when approaching a waterhole to his tusks and head. Deeble wrote, “I wondered if my interpretation of his behavior was fanciful, just a filmmaker’s frustration at not being able to get a clear view. But whenever we saw him, he tried to hide his tusks and I am convinced that it was deliberate.”

Late on Fri., A member of Tsavo Trust publicly stated, “Satao is dead, killed by an ivory poacher’s poisoned arrow to feed the seemingly insatiable demand for ivory in far off countries. A great life lost so that someone far away can have a trinket on their mantlepiece. Rest in peace, old friend, you will be missed.”

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: RICHARD MOLLER, TSAVO TRUST


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