Dzanga Forest Elephants

Category: Elephants, Forest | Date: Aug 10 2008 | By: dzangaforestelephants

For the past week there have been few elephants at the clearing and we suspect that there has been poaching in the area. Clearings where monitored are an excellent means for evaluating poaching pressure in an area. With this information we were able to contact the Dzanga Sangha Project who mobilized an extra antipoaching unit to investigate the area where we suspected poaching activity. Yesterday the numbers picked up in the clearing and instead of the ten to twelve individuals we saw over forty in the clearing. Of the forty many individuals we had observed during the week which means the same individuals had remained in the area despite the poaching pressure.

Good News ! The extra team which was sent out to patrol suspect area found a hunting camp a couple of kilometers from the clearing. When the patrol came upon the camp there were still people present and they immediately fled but the guards were able to confiscate the gun, a home made affair which is locally called a “yalinga.” These are common weapons here and are used to kill small game.

Guard With Confiscated “Yalinga”

The people who fled were not only hunting but also mining for diamonds which are very common in the area. The diamonds are found in river beds where people dig and sift the soil by hand which is a labor intensive activity. The Central African Republic is rich in diamonds which are found throughout the country. Below is a picture of the guard patrol with the stuff they confiscated. Not only did they find a gun but also found equipment for diamond mining which included sifters for finding the diamonds in the river sand.

Guard Patrol with Confiscated Material

It is this type of effort which provides essential protection to the wildlife on the ground. We pay attention to all sign of poaching and inform the anti-poaching unit of the Dzanga Sangha Project of any suspect activity. We would like to thank Cyril Pelissier for sending out the additional guard patrol which resulted in the confiscation of a gun and other material. Hopefully now the bai activity will return to normal and the numbers of elephant and other species will increase.

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