June, 2011: African Elephants

Thank you Kim Smith for posting the BBC videos of African elephants. They brought to mind Barbara’s and my trip to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana in 2011. Of all the wildlife we were privileged to see and study, the elephants were the most endearing and fascinating. Their numbers were plentiful and we had ample opportunity to observe herd life, family structure and bonding within the herd and learn about the elephant habitat. These amazing animals must be among the most intelligent, compassionate and loving in all creation.

In the few short years since our visit, the number of African elephants in the wild has decreased dramatically,(about 6% in Zimbabwe) due largely to habitat destruction and ivory poaching.Despite that, legal hunting of elephants is permitted in many African countries. While it may be true that well managed hunting can serve to conserve habitat and strengthen the herds, some countries, and Zimbabwe in particular, have failed to demonstrate a commitment to that goal. Instead, the hefty fees collected from trophy hunters have been diverted from conservation efforts to unrelated purposes.

That’s why, in 2014,in an effort to discourage Americans from engaging in elephant trophy hunting in parts of Africa, President Obama banned the import into the U.S. of elephant body parts from animals killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
President Trump has now reversed that order, thereby creating incentives for the trophy hunting of these magnificent creatures and accelerating the decline of African elephants which have been on the Endangered Species list since 1979.

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All photos © Marty Luster 2011

UPDATE 9:15 PM
President Trump, in a tweet, has reversed the order that allowed animal trophies from Zimbabwe to be brought into the US, pending further study. This is a temporary measure, but it allows time to have a public discussion about this issue.
MORE HERE