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2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter

 
2006 Zakouma Elephant Slaughter

 
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2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter
 
 
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The 2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter refers to a series of poaching
Poaching

Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international Conservation and wildlife management laws....
 massacres of African elephants in the vicinity of Zakouma National Park
Zakouma National Park

Zakouma National Park is a national park, located between Sarh and Am Timan, in the south of Chad. Created in 1963, it was Chad's first national park, and has an area of almost 3000 square kilometres ....
 in southeastern Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
. These killings were documented in aerial surveys conducted from May through August 2006 and total at least 100 animals.






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Malaelephants
The 2006 Zakouma elephant slaughter refers to a series of poaching
Poaching

Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international Conservation and wildlife management laws....
 massacres of African elephants in the vicinity of Zakouma National Park
Zakouma National Park

Zakouma National Park is a national park, located between Sarh and Am Timan, in the south of Chad. Created in 1963, it was Chad's first national park, and has an area of almost 3000 square kilometres ....
 in southeastern Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
. These killings were documented in aerial surveys conducted from May through August 2006 and total at least 100 animals. This region has a four decade history of illegal killing of this species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
; in fact, the Chad population was over 300,000 animals as recently as 1970 and has been reduced to approximately 10,000 as of 2006. The African elephant nominally has Chadian governmental protection, but the implementation practices of the government (backed with certain EU help) have been insufficient to stem the slaughter by poachers. The species African Bush Elephant
African Bush Elephant

The African Bush Elephant is the larger of the two species of African elephant. Both it and the African Forest Elephant have usually been classified as a single species, known simply as the African Elephant....
 (Loxodonta africana) occurs in several countries of Eastern Africa.

The most recent aerial surveys were conducted from August 3-11, 2006, overseen by J. Michael Fay
J. Michael Fay

J. Michael Fay is an United States ecologist and conservationist notable for, among other things, the MegaTransect, in which he spent 455 days walking 2000 miles across Africa and the MegaFlyover in which he and pilot Peter Ragg spent months flying 70,000 miles in a small plane at low altitude, taking photographs every twenty seconds....
, a Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society endeavors to save wildlife and wild lands though careful use of science, Wildlife conservation around the world, education and through a system of urban wildlife parks....
 conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence. They found five separate massacre sites. Zakouma is considered "one of the last bastions of wildlife in all of central Africa". Commissioned by the government of Chad and Project CRUSSE (Conservation and Rational Utilization of Sudan-Sahelian Ecosystems), Fay conducted surveys In 2005 and 2006 of elephants within Zakouma, and found populations to decline from 3885 to 3020 animals, significantly offsetting the precipitous increase of the previous six months, although the counting error could not be fully assessed.

Reporting details


Fay reported that he saw a total of five men at a base camp, who ran when his airplane approached. At another time he saw one man on horseback with an automatic weapon, who actually fired on the airplane. "Zakouma elephants are getting massacred right before our eyes", Fay relayed to reporters. "We hadn't been in the air more than two hours when we saw our first carcass
Carcass

Carcass may refer to:* Carcase the body of slaughtered animal after the removal of the offal etc.*Carcass A term for a dead body, typically that of an animal....
. It was fresh, maybe just a few weeks old, not far from the park headquarters, and the animal's face had been chopped off, the tusks removed." Fay and National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols documented what they found in .

History of Zakouma National Park


Zakouma National Park is located between Sarh
Sarh

Sarh is the third largest city in Chad, after N'Djamena and Moundou. It is the capital of Moyen-Chari Region regions of Chad and the department of Barh K?h....
 and Am Timan
Am Timan

Am Timan is a city in Chad and is the capital of the regions of Chad of Salamat Region. Am Timan means "mother of twins," although the reason for the name is not known....
, in the southeastern part of Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
. Created in 1963, it was Chad's first national park, and has an area of almost 3000 square kilometres. It is entirely surrounded by the Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve
Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve

Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve is a conservation area in Chad. It is named after the Bahr Salamat River which flows through it. The area was designated 1 January 1964 and is classed as IUCN category IV ....
. Zakouma was neglected during the period of civil conflict, but a restoration programme, supported by the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, began in 1989 and is continuing in 2006.

Elephants within the park have protection from the Chadian government, but the elephants who migrate outside Zakouma to forage in the rainy season, are not subject to the same patrol protection as within the park. According to Stephen Sautner of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society endeavors to save wildlife and wild lands though careful use of science, Wildlife conservation around the world, education and through a system of urban wildlife parks....
: "All hunting of elephants in Chad is illegal, and the sale of ivory has been banned since 1989, though black-market trade is increasing."

Biodiversity background


Since at least the 17th century some humans have killed certain wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
 species in locations not under their land ownership. Generally such actions have been conducted for commercial exploitation to retrieve antler
Antler

Antlers are the usually large and complex horn -like appendages of most deer species, mostly worn by males in true horns. Each antler grows from an attachment point on the skull called a pedicle....
s, tusk
Tusk

Tusks are unusually long teeth, usually but not always in pairs, that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine tooth, as with warthogs, boar , and walruses, or, in the case of elephants and narwhals, elongated incisors....
s, hides
Hides

Hides are skins obtained from animals for human use. Examples of animal hide sources are deer and cattle typically used for producing leather, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and wild cats, minks and bears, whose skins are primarily sought for their fur....
 or even as trophies
Trophy

A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and usually afterwards serves as proof of merit. They are most often awarded with sporting events....
. Besides issues of theft and immorality, there have arisen serious consequences of biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
 impact. Species often targeted for poaching include African elephant, rhinoceros
Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros , often colloquially abbreviated rhino, is a name used to group five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae....
, tiger
Tiger

The tiger is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an Carnivore#Obligate carnivores....
, sea turtle
Sea turtle

Sea turtles are turtles found in all the world's oceans except the Arctic Ocean. There are seven living species of sea turtles: Flatback Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Kemp's Ridley, leatherback sea turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle and Olive Ridley Sea Turtle....
 and many other. Poaching can also include live capture for commercial sale such as taking of primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s for medical research. Significant attrition of many species has occurred especially over the last two centuries, sometimes leading to endangerment
Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of an organism which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters....
 or even extinction
Extinction

In biology and ecology, extinction is the death of every member of a species or group of taxon. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species ....
.

Logistics of ivory trade


Killing elephants for ivory has been a major cause of the decline of the African elephant population since at least the 1970s. Most of the ivory harvested is imported into China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 and Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
. For example, between 1996 and 2002 forty-five tonnes of ivory in transit to China were seized by authorities. China agreed to reduce imports of ivory; however a Chinese official Chen Jianwei has indicated that many Chinese people are confused about the legality of ivory imports.

Relation to regional conflict


Zakouma is about 260 kilometres west of the conflict area of Darfur
Darfur

Darfur is a region in Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by History of the Anglo-Egyptian co-dominium....
, and is in the path of recent warfare in Chad, thus overall security is low and the national border is "porous in this isolated region."

Conservation Action


In response to this devastating event, The WILD Foundation partnered with The Wildlife Conservation Society and others to deter and detain poachers using aircraft surveillance. The aircraft will focus on park borders, where elephants are not protected.

See also

  • Biodiversity Action Plan
    Biodiversity Action Plan

    This article is about a conservation biology topic. For other uses of BAP, see BAP .A 'Biodiversity Action Plan' is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems....
  • Extinction
    Extinction

    In biology and ecology, extinction is the death of every member of a species or group of taxon. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species ....
  • Ivory
    Ivory

    File:Ivory decoration.jpgIvory is formed from dentine and constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth and narwhal....


External links

  • , produced by Mediastorm
    Mediastorm

    MediaStorm is a New York City-based multimedia production company that focuses on innovative, high-quality storytelling through the use of photography, audio, interactivity, and video....