Another incident at Dzanga on the night of April 18th. We heard the sound of gunshot again at about 18:30 and from the sound we knew it to be an AK47. This is the strategy where here the sun sets at 18:00 and the poachers act knowing that guard patrols will not to risk the danger of trying to find the poachers and shooting in the dark. The local guard patrol was dispatched immediately to the clearing and upon their return a few hours later they said that they could hear the poachers chopping away at the elephant in order to quickly remove the tusks. The next day we went to the clearing and found the dead elephant at edge of the clearing where he had collapsed after being shot. He was a young male and was most likely shot in the clearing and then dashed about 50 meters before falling. Yesterday the odor of the rotting corpse permeated the clearing and was a grim reminder of the poaching. In the clearing however we were surprised to see about 30 elephants who although cautious remained in the clearing for the afternoon. Among the elephants was Rachid, an impressive one tusker, who was in musth and trying to guard Juno. Juno was skirting his advances and they made several passes in and out of the bai. The sexuality was infectious because another younger bull tried to copulate with a young female which resulted in a frenzy of vocalizations from the other elephants in the bai. Later in the afternoon another bull arrived in musth. I had seen him a week ago when he came to the clearing and wasn’t able to identify him for lack of time. This time I could clearly see and sketch his ears and identified him as Clyde. He headed for the same hole he occupied last week and didn’t pick up on the Juno being in estrous. Since the last poaching incident the elephants have remained calm and their numbers have increased despite the constant danger. Yesterday we observed 80 elephants in the clearing as well as bongo, buffalo, sitatunga and hylochere (Giant forest hog) who have been scavenging on the most recent elephant carcass. I think what amazes me about Dzanga is how unforgiving these elephants can be or it may be more sinister, perhaps Dzanga is the safest place for them in the area and they have few choices about where to go.
4 Comments posted on "More poaching in Dzanga!"
sheryl, washington dc on May 5th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Damn the poachers. Does anyone have any estimates, based on the number of elephants poached recently, how long before there are no elephants left in the wild? This has become a very frightening situation. It’s as if we’ve taken everything we can from the earth but now we’re going to take the last thing she has to give - life. s.
Theresa Siskind St Petersburg FL on May 5th, 2008 at 9:55 am
So the park patrols are armed, but not with AK47′S probably. What are the rules of engagement? Does it allow proactive enforcement, ie shooting poachers, on sight? Or is lethal force only used in self defense. In my view, these poachers are pond scum, very expendable. The same can’t be said for these elephants or the brave patrols.
TheTeach, Seattle on May 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Well, what’s clearly needed here is the old Richard Leakey Kenya approach; “shoot to kill” on poachers. Some might dismiss this as an emotional over-reaction, but how else is the species to be preserved? If poaching an elephant carries with it the potential for an untimely and instant death sentence in the bush, I would think that would dissuade many. Of course the rangers should always shoot to incapacitate first, but if accidental death results for the poacher, well that was his risk in participating in eco-cide. This is a pattern developing. As long as these men continue to get away with this, there is no reason to believe they will not return again and again to assault the animals. It needs to be nipped in the bud before it gets out of control. Time to do some quiet, intelligence work with the locals you can trust. You need an informer. If the poachers get over confident and you can get a tip it might be possible to stakeout an ambush, make an arrest, and shut this down before it gets out of control. What about some infrared camera’s posted (hidden) in trees around the bai? These are typically used to film wildlife at night, but what a tool they could be to identify and capture poachers in the act. Easily hidden on the edge of lower canopy foliage, they would provide all the evidence needed to make arrests. They could also provide a strong deterrant once word got out as poachers would never know if they were “on camera” or not.
Theresa Siskind St Petersburg FL on May 6th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Great suggestions, Teach. Hadn’t even thought about video surveillance, this could be a promising avenue to explore. Post a comment
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