Des parlamentarischen Ausschusses für Land, Umwelt und natürliche Ressourcen Tanzania warnte gestern das die Elefantenpopulation im Land in den nächsten sieben Jahren aussterben könnte. Der Ausschussvorsitzende James Lembeli (Kahama-CCM) erklärte gestern in der Nationalversammlung für das Ministerium für Naturressourcen und Tourismus, dass die Rate der Elefant Wilderei alarmierende Ausmaße im Land in den letzten Jahren erreicht hat, und fragte dabei die Regierung "Es scheint als schliesse die Regierung die Augen vor dem Abschlachten der Elefanten".

Unter Berufung auf Forschungsergebnisse von Tansania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) sagte Lembeli, dass die Zahl der Elefanten im Jahr 2009 unter 70.000 im vergangenen Jahr von 109.000 sich verringerte. "Vierundzwanzig Elefanten wurden innerhalb von 10 km in den letzten drei Monaten erschossen. Dreißig Meilen von hier sind weitere 26 Elefanten tot aufgefunden wurden. sagte Pratik Patel.

Safari-Tour Betreiber versuchen Alarm zu schlagen, "wenn wir nach Süden Tansania gehen ich kann Ihnen zeigen 70 Kadaver an einem Tag," sagte er, unter Bezugnahme auf die Selous, dem weltweit größten Game Reservat.".

"Elfenbein ist äußerst wertvoll und wie bei Diamanten, es ist wird nicht nur zur Finanzierung von Bürgerkriege und Stammes-Kriege innerhalb von Grenzen Afrikas verwendet, sondern auch durch terroristischen Organisationen. Blut-Elfenbein wird genutzt, um internationale Terroristen, einschließlich Al-Qaeda, Al Shaabab und Lord's Resistance Army zu finanzieren. 30.000 Elefanten - das ist die Anzahl der afrikanischen Elefanten, die im Jahr 2012 für ihre Stoßzähne. getötet wurden" (African Wildlife Trust).

Lesen Sie die gesamte Guardian-Geschichte hier +  Lese bei AP-Geschichte hier +  Lesen bei African Wildlife Trust Website hier

The continent's lion population has shrunk by 75% in the past two decades, according to wildlife experts. They are currently "vulnerable" on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's list of threatened species. In west and central Africa lions are classified as "endangered".

Trophy hunting, human encroachment, poaching, lion poisoning, and human/lion conflict have become a grave concern. In Asia, lion bones have become a popular commodity for healing and traditional purposes. This is a huge concern as the market is increasing for lion bones... to make lion soup or lion wine. Its properties were believed... to provide medicinal remedies, which is medically unfounded.

The expanding agricultural sector has led to lions confining themselves to isolated areas, increasing their risk of extinction (read here my article from the Masai Mara). Every year more lions die as they are forced to make room for Africa's growth. In Botswana alone over 100 lions are killed each year in an attempt to protect livestock.

An iconic scene from East Africa – an elephants family in the foreground and the snow capped Mt. Kilimanjaro in the background. While the mountain is in Tanzania across the border, it can be viewed clearly from Amboseli, Kenya.

Ngorongoro district authorities are investigating the killing of more than 40 rare wild dogs in the controlled area of Loliondo Game reserve allegedly by people claiming that the animals killed 157 goats and 4 cows which belonged to them.

According to reports from the area, the people lit fires in the caves in which the dogs live along Kertalo and Orkiu villages near the Serengeti National Park border in the district. Reports from Loliondo said that the people are alleged to have put bundles of firewood inside the caves and set them on fire, after which they blocked the entrance to the caves with stones leaving the animals burning inside.

Ngorongoro District Commissioner Elius Wawa confirmed the incident saying that the investigation to establish the people behind the ruthless act was in progress.

“It is true, the incident has happened… the defense and security organs are currently investigating the matter,” Wawa said.

Speaking to journalists, the villagers said that a few days before being killed, the dogs invaded and killed 157 goats and four cows belonging to the villagers.

One of the villagers, Mbaaryo Papalai said the dogs have been a threat to their livestock and that whenever their animals were killed they were not compensated. “Personally I don’t know who killed these dogs …but whoever did it has helped us because these animals were a threat to us. They have eaten my 16 goats this year and I have not been compensated,” Papalai said. Another villager who resides at Kertalo, Mesiaya Ole Tome said that the government should investigate and come up with a strategy which would put an end to the killing of wild animals. “These killings are done by unknown people …I call upon the government to conduct an investigation which will involve speaking to the villagers so as to rescue the lives of these animals,” said Ole Tome. He said the wild dogs have been entering the residential areas in packs of ten to twenty and attacking their animals, thus creating fear among the villagers. There has been a spate of killings of the wild dogs since 2007 when 25 of them were killed by poison.

According to statistics Africa has 8000 wild dogs and Tanzania alone has 3,500 in different national parks in the country. According to Wildlife Conservation Society Tanzania website, Tanzania holds a critically important population of wild dogs, harbouring around 20% of the global population of the species, as well as the world’s second and third largest populations of the species in Selous and Ruaha ecosystems, 800 found in Sealous and 500 in Ruaha.

The world’s largest wild dog population is found in southern Africa spanning eastern Namibia, Botswana, western Zimbabwe, and southern Zambia and Angola.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Lion bones are increasingly important to the Asian traditional medicine trade, largely because the tigers that used to supply bones are facing dwindling numbers and trade in tiger parts is prohibited under international law. Juan de Beer of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency’s (MTPA) special investigations unit explained that before 2008 there was no market for lion bones. “Landowners are now digging up old bones that were buried and selling them,” he said.

Chris Mercer, director of the Campaign against Canned Hunting has said much more than just amplifying the trend, canned hunting is in fact setting the trend.

Lion bones opening up avenues for lion in the wild to be poached and their bones to be smuggled through the export supply chain undetected. 

Dr Pieter Kat, Director of Lion Aid a conservation organisation based in the United Kingdom, today a lion skeleton is worth $10 000 in the Asian countries, a rapid profit jump from $4 000 in 2010.

Lion bones and rhino horn have become key trade targets!!

South Africa has facilitated the following ... read here the article

• An export of 250kg of lion bones to Laos in 2009 (previous total 2000-2008 was 0);

• An export of 586 bones to Laos in 2010 (previous total 2000-2009 was 0);

• An export of 14 live lion to Vietnam in 2010 (previous total 2000-2009 was 2);

• An export of 29 skeletons to Laos and 19 to Vietnam in 2010 (previous total to Laos 2000-2009 was 5 and Vietnam was 0);

• An export of 90 teeth to Laos in 2010 (previous total to Laos 2000-2009 was 0)

• An export of 54 lion trophies to Laos (previous total to Laos 2000-2009 was 1). (Figures courtesy of Lion Aid, 2012)

Lion hunts in South Africa are worth more than 90 million dollar (£60 million) a year says the Professional Hunters Association. 16,394 foreign hunters (more than half of which fly from the US) killed 46,000+ animals from Sept. 2006 - Sept. 2007. Trophy hunter is worth $91.2 million a year and foreign tourist sometimes pay up to $40,000 to shoot a lion. The government supports hunting because of its revenue. Provincial government sell permits to kill rhinos, lions, elephants, and giraffes ... read and help LionAid http://www.lionaid.org/

We must work together to launch a worldwide campaign for African lions!

Lions often act quickly and without warning, so you need to be highly alert when photographing their hunting patterns. Lions need the advantage of surprise because their prey is often just as fast as (if not faster than) the lions themselves. Lions, like all big cats, are opportunists. If they have the chance to surprise potential prey, they will hunt during the day too. A lion dozing in the shade can be at full speed on the tail of a potential meal within seconds. Lions, especially the more agile lionesses, often hunt alone, although I have witnessed two group hunts in the Ngorongoro Crater.

When you find your target pride, use your binoculars or telephoto lens to determine whether their manes, necks, and mouths show signs of blood, and whether their bellies appear full. If this is the case, the lions have most likely hunted successfully during the night and won’t be on the move again too soon -unless, of course, they didn’t kill enough to feed the whole group. If you fi nd a group without signs of a hunt, or which is on the lookout, or which is already targeting its prey (like the group in the photo), you should initially keep suffi cient distance to retain an overview of the situation. The next step is to search the area for the lions’ potential prey.