Posted on 08/31/2006 8:21:42 AM PDT by Leg Olam
Click on URL above or here http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060830-elephant-video.html and watch video. Very disturbing. Makes me sick at what people do.
Is this for food or ivory and skins?
Do the elephants eat their crops?
Who shall survive, man or elephant?
I can't watch the video, but...I understand that this is why elephants are disappearing from Africa. In many countries, poaching is big business...the governments are either "in bed" with the poachers, or they don't have the resources, manpower and law enforcement to stop them. It's getting to the point where the only place you will find elephants will be the local zoo. Our local zoo is participating in elephant breeding programs -- they have managed to produce two youngsters so far, but no way these youngsters can be released in the wild.
I cannot watch the video...I could if was being done to Islamofacist muslims, but not animals...die hard animal lover.
Its for ivory. There are no crops being grown in the elephants territory. Its mostly desert country. The poachers shoot entire herds and then hack off the elepants face and cut out the tusks. The carcass is left to rot.
'Who shall survive?'
Those who deserve to survive.
I don't believe elephants were ever a major food source for africans. I have no use for poachers. It's like the poacher who kills a deer only to cut off the antlers and take the tenderloins leaving the rest to rot.
They aren't a food source...you're right about that...it's the ivory and certain body parts. The ivory trade still flourishes. And the body parts are thought to enhance virility, among other things.
Its the same with tigers and rhinos. Ignorant, superstitious savages.
I used to travel in West Africa a lot when working for a major oil company. In the process, I got to know a lot of Africans and found it interesting to discuss such topics with them.
Elephants were almost never poached. The governments strictly regulated hunting by restricting the supply of ammunition (and not so much guns, interestingly) and by prohibiting the export of ivory. As such, it was counter productive to hunt the critters.
At the same time, the Africans would gladly dine on elephant carcasses whenever they were lucky enough to find one within a "window of opportunity" -- which was rare considering the lack of refrigeration in the bush. If you did discover a meal, you would immediately notify everybody you know, and ask them to invite all of their friends to a giant roast.
Also, according to my African friends, although there is some variance depending on what part of the beast you eat, elephant generally tastes like, what else, beef.
In some instances people have been driven to kill elephants for food. Seems like I read that countries that border Zimbabwe have had some problems with poaching for food due to the Zimbabwean descent into hell.
Elephant population control is a big issue. Conventional wisdom on elephant population plunges is not complete truth. Google the subject to see what I mean.
It's really fairly rare for societies that live on subsistence hunting and gathering to go after large dangerous game. After all you can't feed your family if you're dead. Then there's the storage problem you mentioned.
The native Americans are an interesting contradiction to that thinking but hunting bison didn't suddenly spring up. Bison hunting developed over time and whole societies grew up around it. On the other hand some Indians encountered bison on a regular basis but didn't hunt them. I remember reading a Lewis and Clark account of meeting a tribe that waited for the spring flood waters to bring them dead bison.
I guess it depends on what country you're in. Much of Africa has been very slow to change traditions and customs, learn new things and to discard old wives' tales. For example, I have a friend who spent some time in Ethiopia trying to teach farmers some new methods to deal with the constant drought. He said the people would listen very politely, then go back to farming the way they always had. And it's the same thing with AIDS. I know those who have tried to teach abstinence and safe sex, and distribute condoms, urge health checkups and the like -- but still, the old ways continue. We can pour large sums of money into these countries to try to address these ills, but if the people and their governments won't cooperate, it will be money down the drain.
There are alot of barbarians out there.....everywhere.
You're absolutely correct. It's difficult to get somebody to abandon practices that may be many generations old, and unfortunately superstition and ignorance often dilute or exclude more pragmatic approaches to problem solving. Another issue is the wholesale mistrust of government programs and effort; unfortunately, in most of Africa the populace has been treated so incredibly poorly by the powers that be (an ongoing problem), there is no compelling reason why any right thinking individual would believe anything that came from the authorities.
Watch the video.
"I used to travel in West Africa a lot..."
Where in West Africa? Nigeria I would imagine, given the nature of your employment. Have you been to Senegal or Liberia? Senegal seems remarkably stable in comparison to the rest of the region, and if the new Liberian government can stay in power it would seem positive changes can be made there.
"I cannot watch the video...I could if was being done to Islamofacist muslims, but not animals...die hard animal lover."
I'm in total agreement with you.
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