European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Slaughter of the elephants by Robert Caputo National geographic emf. Big Tusk cd. Solitary males once the Symbol  and longevity among african a up hands  Irum Iho continent Ito i lords of females and Young Are by Iarj decimated Tho Losse arc  Ion years ago about i 5 million wild elephants roamed the african Plains and or a is today scientists estimate As Lew As 100.000 survive throughout the 1980s, an average of 200 to 300 rec Phauls have been slaughtered every a. 80 to 90 percent of Themi ierp1/ if Tom touching continues Al the present rate the african elephant May of in incl by the Ond of Iho Century the situation is desperate says Pale oncologist Richard g Leakey the  director of Kenya s Wil Lilc department in Nairobi this body is soon to become a Semi Independent organization which will run Kenya s National Parks and Anh poaching operations the stall of the no department will have counter guerilla  Leakey tells National geographic for the first Lime in years the poachers Are going to line somebody opposing them they Are now going to have a real Light Kenya along with Tanzania and other african countries recently called for a total worldwide ban on Ivory Trade the lucrative incentive for elephant Slaughter. The proposal which has gained International support will be considered at a meeting of the convention on International Trade in endangered species cites this october in Switzerland the United Stales which accounts Lor one third of the world s Market Lor Ivory products banned All imports of elephant Ivory in Early june in mid june the 12-nation european economic Community effectively banned All Ivory imports at Iho same Cimfl. Japan and Hong Kong two of the biggest Consumers of Ivory severely limited imports. Hong Kong Banning them temporarily these restrictions leave China India. Taiwan and Singapore As the Only major markets still open to Ivory Trade bans Are considered necessary because earlier a Flores to regulate Tho Trade have been ineffective Ivory is big business Worth about $600 million a year in 1986 cites listed the Al can elephant As a threatened species it established Ivory Export quotas Lor countries with elephant populations Bui cites had no enforcement mechanism the quotas were easily circumvented the proposal before cites in october would make the african elephant an endangered species prohibiting Ivory Trade i Don t think we should be starry eyed about  Leakey says i Don i think Banning Ivory throw in cites is going to eliminate the problem it will not rampant Slaughter of wild african elephants Tor their Ivory tusks threatens the creatures with extinction. Poachers with Poison tipped arrows Are held by rangers in photo at left. Necessarily reduce the value of Ivory but in will reduce Tho volume. That is significant in terms of Tho policing  critics of Tho proposed ban say that it would Only drive the Trade underground and thai it would continue to flourish there Ivory s ultimate destination is Japan the United states and Europe scientists and conservationists Hope Hal Public pressure will make Ivory unfashionable just As people Learned to Stop wearing spotted Cal skins  he to make them embarrassed to Wear Ivory jewelry or have Ivory ornaments in their  says Cynthia Moss an american scientist who is director of Tho Ambo Seli elephant research project in Ken a another part of the problem is Tho loss of elephant habitat caused by Alica s population explosion five Hundred years ago. 16 million people shared Africa with 10 million elephants today More than Hall a billion people have con med Iho remaining elephants to less than a Quarter of their former Range like Many of Africa s people wild animals have suffered tremendously from the political turmoil that plagues much of the continent. Civil wars have led to a breakdown of Parks systems and policing mechanisms and to a rapid increase in the availability of modern weapons. Tho poachers Are Well organized heavily armed and often directly or indirectly aided by government of Licals who partake of the enormous profits. A poacher can frequently get the equivalent of a year s wages Lor one pair of tusks Moss says in Kenya Whoso elephant population has alien irom 130,570 to fewer than ?0 000 m 15 years poachers gun Down whole herds of elephants with sub machine guns then gouge the tusks from the skulls with Chain saws elephants take 15 to 20 years to Roach Breeding age tusks grow throughout an elephant s Hie making older ones the favorite targets of poachers the loss of older animals robs the populations of genetic diversity and crucial behavioural information. Elephants Are architects of their void through seed dispersal and Lee dog they play a Large role in shaping the lands they inhabit they Are important to other species in Little understood ways their demise May have Yel unknown consequences a 2,000-Pound great White shark attacks swim into coastal areas. Scientists belie the Shai by Donald Smith National geographic t he creature Oil Green Turtle Cay Bahamas was Aboul two body lengths away and coming slowly toward me through the Crystal Green water. Its Blunt snout and darkened in tips announced it As a Caribbean reef shark. One of Iho most dangerous inhabitants of the subtropics. Reef Sharks were identified in three attacks on humans in bahamian Walers during Tho past two years and Are suspected in three More a Lew minutes earlier another diver had first seen the animal Aboul 6 loot Long from nose to Tail snapping at a school of Blue runners Small Silvery fish with Blue stripes on their backs the shark charged the school twisting and Bilog sending them Hying in All directions. Now the runners had taken Refuge under my Shadow in Tho water for a Frozen moment Iho shark and i a changed stares. I would say thai definitely was a Dicey  Sanuel h. Gruber. A. University of Miami Marine science professor told to later. When a shark is in a feeding Mode like that it s hard to predict what hell  unpredictability is what gives people who spend much time around Sharks a healthy respect for them. They Are Large aggressive oceanic  says Phil Sharkey. A diving supervisor at Tho University of Rhode Island s school of oceanography All Good advice in you see one while you re swimming is to quietly calmly gel out of Tho  in recent years shark experts have Page 14 the stars and stripes