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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| November 14, 2004 |
Mombasa, Kenya – The plight of the hunted elephants of Tsavo National Park |
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| An elephant in the wild in Tsavo national Park |
60 Peace Boat participants were taken by guest speaker and musician Peter Orwa on a two-day safari in Tsavo East National park, Kenya, to expose them to the natural habitat of wild African animals. What made this tour different from the average safari trip was the visit to the park’s research center and elephant orphanage, to discuss the problems that hunted animals face and what can be done to help. |
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| Wild zebras |
Driving through the heart of the savannah, participants witnessed over ten different species of wild animals, including zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, cheetahs, ostriches and elephants. At over 13,000km sq, Tsavo is the largest national park in Kenya with over 32 different large mammal species and 324 species of birds. Because of its size, the park has been divided into East and West Tsavo for administration purposes. However it is the huge size of the park that has been its worst enemy for years, inviting unwanted poachers to slaughter horrifying numbers of rhino and elephant. |
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| Mr. Jackson |
At the Tsavo National Park Research Center, staff members Mr. Jackson and Dr. Barbara explained how ivory poaching reduced the park’s elephant population from 35,000 in 1967 to a mere 5,000 in 1988. By laying wire traps and snares, the poachers are able to capture elephants, sever off their trunks to extract the ivory. They then cover the dead animal with branches, making it hard for rangers to trace the bodies and capture the poachers. Moreover the maximum sentence in Kenya for illegal poaching is 2-3 months imprisonment and a small fine. The park, however, does not only suffer from the demands of the international ivory trade but also from bushmeat poaching, tree logging, charcoal burning, wild bush fires and terrestrial pollution. |
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| The thousands of elephant carcasses at the Research Center |
The core activities at the Research Center are to monitor the park’s ecology, treat sick animals, manage eco-tourism projects and protect specific species (rhino, elephant, hirolla and lion) from being hunted. However with only 600 rangers for the whole park, 60km between each base and vast areas with no fencing it is difficult to prevent poachers from entering (especially at night) and to stop animals from leaving the park, which often results in local crop destruction. The latter makes it even more difficult to educate the local population on the importance of preserving wildlife, when elephants and buffaloes are seen to be a pest to their farms. |
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| Elephants being walked back to the orphanage for feeding |
At the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (Tsavo’s elephant orphanage), there are currently 24 elephants who are being nurtured back to health and back into the wild. Baby elephants end up here for all sorts of reasons; getting stuck in wells or dried up waterholes or lying next to their murdered parents, mourning their death. They are rescued and taken to the nursery in Nairobi until they can feed on branches and then they are brought to the orphanage in Tsavo. Joseph Saumi explained that they usually stay until they are around six years old or until they find a herd they feel happy to roam free with. Participants were privileged to witness the orphaned elephants coming home at the end of a day out with their friends, ready for feeding and a protected nights sleep. |
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| Reaching out to be touched |
Peace Boat participants were extremely moved by their experiences in the ‘animal kingdom’ and at the elephant orphanage and had an in-depth discussion forum with Joseph to find out more about what they can do to help. Joseph stated that the people who come to Tsavo on safari are the backbone of the economy, as they are able to fund the conservation projects that the Kenyan government does not. The Wildlife Trust has identified poverty as a main cause for bushmeat poaching and has thus developed a community awareness programme, which targets local children and their parents. “By providing them with teaching materials, taking them on game drives and showing them shocking films on poaching, we are raising awareness about the importance of these animals in the eco-system, however it is an uphill struglle as we cannot provide them with alternative food. Furthermore many Kenyans have never really witnessed our rich wildlife with their own eyes and so we need them to understand fully the important co-existence of man and nature. It is also ironic how man both destroys and saves the lives of these animals ”.
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| Joseph showing a typical wire snare |
Joseph stressed that as long as there was demand there would be supply and that it was up to the citizens of the world to pressure their governments to ban the sale of ivory. Participants expressed how seeing the carcasses of poached elephants had affected them deeply and that they were embarrassed to know that Japan was a major trader in ivory, each tusk usually bringing 20USD on the black market. “Is this the cost of life?” asked Joseph. Participants said they felt priviledged to be able to see this situation with their own eyes and they each donated 50USD, which will sponsor an elephant’s well-being at the Wildlife Trust for a year. |
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| Participants discussing their experience of the last two days |
Most of the people present that day said their intentions were to go home and communicate the urgency for Japanese governmental reform on the sale of ivory and to pressurize authorities to rethink the conditions of zoological facilities. They also plan to report back to the rest of the ship and start an onboard “sponsor an elephant” campaign. |
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| An elephant at feeding time |
“Saving wildlife and wilderness is the responsibility of all thinking peoples. Greed and personal gain must not be permitted to decimate, despoil and destroy earth’s irreplaceable treasures. For the continued and the well-being of earth as a whole, it is essential that every human heed this message. All life has just one home – the earth – and we as the dominant species must take care of it”. Mission statement from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
To find out more about activities, including the adoption of an elephant, please visit –
www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org |
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