Will your children's children get to see Dumbo in the wild?

In September 2012 I walked part of the Great Wall of China for Dementia UK, Admiral Nurses.  I wrote my memories of the adventure in an e-book 'Scaling the Dragon's Back.'

In order to boost fundraising this festive season my book is on 50% sale (at £2.50 less than the cost of a high street cup of coffee).

All proceeds from books sold (after publisher fees) will be donated to continue my support of Dementia care.

The book is available from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes and Noble for Nook, on Kobo and for all other formats from www.theendlessbookcase.co.uk.

The magnificent elephant

Prince William’s speech in Washington calling on nations to take action over the trade in illegal animal parts should not be ignored.  Prince William warned “those who look the other way, or spend the illicit proceeds of these crimes, must be held to account.”  According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade.  Specifically in relation to elephants 22,000 African elephants were estimated to have been killed by poachers for their ivory in 2012. In China the wholesale price of ivory has reportedly risen from $5 (£3) to $2,100 (£1,346) per kg in the past 25 years.  United for Wildlife charity reports that “the illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth between $5bn-$20bn (£3.2bn-£12.8bn) a year and is considered the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, human trafficking and arms dealing.

I have had the good fortune to enjoy a safari in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, where the preponderance of the Baobab Tree and Elephants make visiting the Tarangire National Park a unique and wonderful experience.  Tarangire is said to be home to more African elephants per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world with more than 5,000 elephants.  Rhinos have been extinct in Tarangire National Park since 1980s because of poaching.

Boabab - The upside down tree.

The Tarangire River is a vital source of water for the wildlife especially during dry season (July – November) when the disbursed elephant herds return to the river as natural water holes outside the park dry up. Watching these magnificent animals’ antics when they visit the river and swamps for water and to cool off was possibly the highlight of my safari experience.  The numerous baobab trees, so called upside down trees, provide food for the parks elephants.  Elephants feed off the bark of the trees a vital food source for them especially during dry season.  I was told by an Anti-Poaching Adviser that poachers have been known to hollow out the trunk of the baobab tree and hide inside the trunk lying in wait to poach elephants who come to the tree to eat.   

Tanzania has been identified as the leading exporter of illegal ivory in recent years. An estimated 10,000 elephants are being slaughtered in the country annually. Tanzania has one of the world's last great elephant populations. It is estimated 70,000 to 80,000 elephants roam the national parks amounting to a quarter of all of the elephants in African.  In colonial times, the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar was known to hold the largest ivory auctions in the world.

Elephants attracted to Tarangire's Swamp to drink.

As Joseph Conrad wrote in The Heart of Darkness, over a century ago at a time when there were no laws against shooting elephants, "The word 'ivory' rang in the air, was whispered, was sighed. You would think they were praying to it."  Today I was told those public auctions have been replaced by underground networks of smugglers as Tanzania remains a leading source of ivory.  Today's restrictions on the ivory trade, and the growing seemingly insatiable Asian market for ivory only drive its increase in value.  From 2009 to 2011, Tanzania was the leading exporter of illegal ivory in the world with 37% of all elephant tusks seized coming from Tanzania, with Kenya a close second.

Cooling off at a water holes.

In 2012 Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a leading authority in the fight to protection Africa’s elephants warned "There's an enormous slaughter of elephants going on in Tanzania right now. "There's no protection in numbers for elephants any more than there was for bison in the last century when they were all wiped out in America. So people shouldn't kid themselves."  It is said poachers are responsible for between 60 to 90 percent of elephant deaths in Tanzania. In May this year the Tanzanian Elephant Protection Society (TEPS), an independent conservation group, said "approximately 30 elephants a day are killed... at this rate the population will be exterminated by 2020."  At the same conference it was reported that tourism in Tanzania, some 90 percent of which is wildlife based, accounts for 17 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product employing over 300,000 people, according to official statistics.

More magnificent elephants.

Tanzania is losing its elephants to poverty, poor administration and corruption mirroring a similar situation in other African countries. A pair of big elephant tusks will earn a year's income to a subsistence farmer turned poacher and punishment for a convicted poacher can be as little as a $13 fine.  Wildlife rangers, although they have significantly increased in numbers in recent years are poorly paid.   The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a Kenyan conservation charity, says “one elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its tusks and they could disappear from the wild by 2025.” 

It was a wonderful experience to have been lucky enough to see these magnificent creatures in the wild, in their natural environment where they belong.  It would be such a shame and so sad if our children or our children’s children were only able to see elephants in a zoo or wildlife park.  Don’t you think?

What in your opinion can be done to stem the illegal ivory trade?  Is there hope?

For ebook reviews see my blog http://kephr.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/scaling-dragons-back-e-book-is-half.html