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In findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Saint Louis University researchers and colleagues report that elephants play a key role in creating forests that store more atmospheric carbon and maintaining the biodiversity of forests in Africa. If the already critically endangered elephants become extinct, the rainforest of central and west Africa, the second largest rainforest on earth, would lose between six and nine percent of its ability to capture atmospheric carbon, amplifying planetary warming. **SNIP** Within the forest, some trees have light wood (low carbon density trees) while others make heavy wood (high carbon density...

Three elephants have been filmed checking out a hospital as they strolled along corridors in front of shocked onlookers. Clearly there wasn’t much space for the massive animals and one, struggling with a narrow passageway, was forced to go through a set of doors backwards in the Indian hospital. One of the elephants could be seen standing for a while in a corridor of the hospital, and looked as surprised as staff. A person tweeted: “I think this happens when you occupy their habitat and make structures on that. It’s their land and (they) want it back.” Another wrote: “When...

In Ivory Coast a group of conservationists and veterinarians are moving this increasingly endangered forest elephant to an area where the animal is less likely to be targeted by poachers. Scientists have been using DNA testing to track how ivory traffickers are operating. As few as three major criminal groups are responsible for smuggling the vast majority of elephant ivory tusks out of Africa, according to a new study. They’ve develop a combined genetic and statistical method to determine the origin of poached ivory and they are collaborating with the Interpol Working Group on Wildlife Crime to investigate the origins...

This is the incredible moment two six-ton bull elephants clashed in a 10-minute blockbuster battle just yards away from a walking tour. The mighty animals flattened trees as they stomped around and wrestled with their trunks. Chris Bates was on a tour in Kruger National Park, South Africa, when he filmed the incredible clash on the trail.

A herd of elephants that packed its trunks for an unexpected 500km (300 mile) trek has arrived at a Chinese city where millions of people live. The 15 elephants have been hoovering up crops and poking their noses through doors on the march from the south of Yunnan province to its capital Kunming. A big effort - with tonnes of food - is under way to try and keep them safe. It is unclear why they left their habitat to embark on the journey, which has captivated residents and experts. Some have suggested an inexperienced leader may have led the...

A herd of 15 wild elephants was approaching the city of Kunming, the capital of south-west China's Yunnan province, on Wednesday (June 2), defying attempts to redirect them after a journey of several hundred kilometres from forests to the south. The Asian elephants, which include three calves, originally lived in a nature reserve, according to the official Xinhua news agency, and have trekked for nearly 500km along highways and through fields of crops over the past months. More from AsiaOne Read the condensed version of this story, and other top stories with NewsLite. They were within a few kilometres of...

It started with a petrified tree, half-buried in the mud of the Mokelumne River watershed in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The site intrigued Greg Francek, a ranger for East Bay Municipal Utility District, as he was walking the valley last summer. He inspected further, and what he recently discovered led to one of the most significant fossil discoveries in California history. Advertisement "I looked around the area further and I found a second tree," Francek said in an EBMUD statement released this week, documenting the discovery. "And then a third and so on. After finding dozens of trees I realized...

Facing an income shortage from the loss of tourism due to COVID-19, Zimbabwe has announced it will soon start selling rights to shoot 500 endangered elephants this year. “We eat what we kill. We have a budget of about $25 million for our operations which is raised — partly — through sports hunting, but you know tourism is as good as dead at the moment due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Tinashe Farawo, a spokesman for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, told CNN. The African forest elephant is now on the critically endangered species list and the savannah elephant...

There was something I left out of my last two columns about the orphaned elephants at South Africa’s Pilanesberg Park where I compared what happened there to the fatherless “orphans” in troubled black neighborhoods. Fixing the elephant youth gang problem had a two-pronged solution: policing the elephants with father figures and policing them with humans outside the herd. I wrote mostly about the first, where father figures – adult males – were relocated to Pilanesberg who “kicked butt” to keep the delinquents in line. They took on the role of policeman inside the herd when youthful exuberance threatened to spill...

Officials at a South African national park said yesterday that a man who was suspected of being a poacher was killed by a herd elephants on Saturday. The men were running from rangers when they ran into a “breeding herd of elephants.” The men were reportedly attempting to poach rhinoceros. Only through discipline, teamwork and tenacity will we be able to help stem the tide of rhino poaching in KNP.”

The man was one of three suspected rhino poachers whom park rangers were chasing through Kruger National Park at the time, SANParks said in a news release. "When they realized they had been spotted, the suspected poachers dropped an axe and a bag with their provisions in an attempt to escape from the rangers," SANParks said. The rangers pursued the three suspects with dogs and air support. They eventually caught up with one who said his accomplice had run into a herd of breeding elephants, but he did not know what happened after that. Rangers went to the spot where...

A suspected rhino poacher was killed in an elephant stampede at a South African national park on Saturday, officials said. The man was among three suspected poachers spotted by rangers at Kruger National Park, the parks service said in a Sunday press release. The trio fled when they were seen, and during their escape, ran into a breeding herd of elephants, authorities said.

The genteel surroundings of a Chantaburi golf course were shattered by the thunder of mortal combat between two giants early on Friday. Local police and officials from Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary were alerted of wild elephants fighting at the Chatrium Golf Resort in Pong Nam Ron district of the eastern province in the early hours of the morning. Rushing to the scene, they found the body of male juvenile tusker, aged around 6-7 years and weighing over 1 tonne, lying in a dry ditch on the golf course. The animal had suffered deeps cuts and stabbing wounds and was...

Campers in Khao Yai were shocked out of their sleep on Friday morning when a wild elephant invaded the camping ground and killed an old man sleeping in his tent. The elephant ran into the Pha Kluai Mai camping ground at around 2am and entered the tent of Prayod Chitboon, 80. It then grabbed the man with its trunk and flung him against a tree, killing him immediately. The rest of the campers ran to safety. Khao Yai officials said later that the dead man’s car was filled with pomelos and the animal was possibly lured by the load. Officials...

New research from a team of Canadian anthropologists is suggesting a famously debunked story about drunken elephants may have a kernel of truth in it after all. The researchers investigated a number of mammals for the presence of a genetic mutation linked to enhanced ethanol metabolism, finding very few animals actually have the ability to quickly process alcohol. Back in 2005 a team of biologists from the University of Bristol purported to debunk a common amusing anecdote. The oft-told story recounted African elephants seeking out fallen fruit from the malura tree. The naturally sweet fruit is known to ferment quickly...

Across the world there are now 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 - but a herd of elephants in China found a very fun way to make the most of people putting themselves in self-isolationSNIP And at one farm in the Yunan province, elephants too full advantage of the situation. The herd of 14 majestic beasts broke into a village in a bid to find food. However, they got a cheeky extra for their efforts when they came across a huge 30kg of corn wine. After drinking the lot the elephants were somewhat the worse for wear. Two males passed out,...

Across the world there are now 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 - but a herd of elephants in China found a very fun way to make the most of people putting themselves in self-isoltion Click to view Image SNIPChina was the first country to be hit by coronavirus with tens of millions placed in lockdown while authorities worked to halt its spread.And at one farm in the Yunan province, elephants took full advantage of the situation.The herd of 14 majestic beasts broke into a village in a bid to find food.However, they got a cheeky extra for their efforts when they...

Researchers in Germany have unearthed 400,000 year old wooden spears from what appears to be an ancient lake shore hunting ground stunning evidence that human ancestors systematically hunted big game much earlier than believed. The three spears, each carved from the trunk of a spruce tree, are 6 feet to more than 7 feet long. They were found with more than 10,000 animal bones, mostly from horses, including many obviously butchered. That indicates the ancient hunters were organized enough to trap horses and strong enough to kill them by throwing spears, perhaps ambushing herds that showed up for water. “There’s...

Botswana is a landlocked country which is situated in Southern Africa. It is my favourite country in the world. It is a "Wildlife Paradise" in more ways than one. It is home to the "Big Five" namely Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Elephant, and Rhino. They are called the "Big Five" because they were difficult to hunt on foot in the past. Botswana has reserved 40% of its land exclusively for wildlife. Botswana is home to many famous "National Parks" and "Game Reserves". The most famous are Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve. Chobe National Park in Northern Botswana is globally...

On Friday, actor Tom Arnold tweeted a death threat against Donald Trump Jr. Arnold had previously challenged President Donald Trump to a fistfight. Since Arnold has 250,000 followers, Secret Service warned him that this kind of inciting tweet could encourage his followers to engage in real violence. How much more so a bona fide death threat! Arnold began his attack by tweeting out a picture of Trump Jr. holding the tail of an African elephant he had killed while on safari in 2011. "This is Donald Trump Jr. He is holding the tail of a beautiful African elephant he murdered...