Two-thirds of forest elephants killed by ivory poachers in past decade

[cali]

The forest elephants of Africa have lost almost two-thirds of their number in the past decade due to poaching for ivory, a landmark new study revealed on Tuesday. The research was released at an international wildlife summit in Bangkok where the eight key ivory-trading nations, including the host nation Thailand and biggest market China, have been put on notice of sweeping trade sanctions if they fail to crack down on the trade.

"The analysis confirms what conservationists have feared: the rapid trend towards extinction – potentially within the next decade – of the forest elephant," said Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), one of 60 scientists on the research team.

There are about 100,000 forest elephants remaining in the forests of central Africa, compared with about 400,000 of the slightly larger savannah elephants. The total elephant population was over 1 million 30 years ago, but has been devastated by poaching driven by the rising demand for ivory ornaments in Asia.

Prof Lee White, head of the National Parks Service in Gabon, once home to the largest forest elephant population, said: "A rainforest without elephants is a barren place. They bring it to life, they create the trails and keep open the forest clearings other animals use; they disperse the seeds of many of the rainforest trees – elephants are forest gardeners at a vast scale."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/05/two-thirds-forest-elephants-killed

[stuntcat]

1. That's Humanity

Wiping out perfectly healthy, beautiful species.
It twisted how the species that's acting as a planet-raping disease has convinced itself it's the very image of God.

[talkingmime]

2. Just a weird thought, but perhaps 3-D printers can fill a gap in that desire for ivory.

The products of 3-D printing look surprisingly similar to ivory, but a little too "white". That should be an easy problem to solve. I just can't grasp the mentality of someone who would slaughter a huge and beautiful beast for a small part of its body. Taking the tusks from an elephant is like taking the fins off of a shark. That's all they use and the animals die for it. They don't even use the meat! It's like the poachers who killed buffalo the Native Americans depended on for survival just so they could take the skins and leave the carcasses for the vultures. I can't wrap my head around that.