Some Good News: An ‘Elephant Baby Boom’ In One Kenyan National Park

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A mother elephant and her calf head for a nearby marsh at Kenya’s Amboseli National Park on August 12.

Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

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Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

Parallels
Up In Flames: Kenya Burns More Than 100 Tons Of Ivory

In 2019, the Kenyan government instituted stiffer consequences for anyone convicted of poaching, including large fines and prison time, the AP reported.

In Kenya, 80 elephants were poached in 2018. The number dropped significantly to 34 in 2019. And in 2020, the numbers are on track to hit an even smaller figure for the full year.

«Our number of poached elephants from January to today has been seven,» Balala said. He added: «We regret it has been seven.»

In celebrating the #WorldElephantDay, I took part in an Elephant Collaring Exercise, at Amboseli. We collared the young bull, so that we can understand and monitor the movement patterns of the herd, for Elephant conservation and management. #wildlifeKE pic.twitter.com/f7mzlcsp9p

— Najib Balala (@tunajibu) August 12, 2020

Despite the promising numbers in Kenya, African elephants are still considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

While illegal poaching does remain a threat to the population, the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species reports «the most important perceived threat» is the loss or weakening of habitat caused by ongoing human population expansion and conversion of land.

Kenya’s Wildlife Service Director General John Waweru spoke about the threat of «human-elephant conflict» to conservation efforts during the World Elephant Day event — which can arise when elephants raid farmers crops and kill livestock.

Human-elephant conflict is emerging as the major threat to elephant conservation & its effective mitigation along with enhanced security will require the continued dedicated efforts from KWS & Stakeholders — KWS DG Brig (Rtd) J. Waweru #WorldElephantDay pic.twitter.com/6ok4tSyHoP

— KWS (@kwskenya) August 12, 2020

«The elephants are one of the natural resources that has been caught up in human greed on one hand and human need on the other, so there we have a dichotomy,» Waweru said.

In 2016, NPR reported on a comprehensive census of African elephants that found the overall population decreased by nearly a third between 2007 and 2014, totaling in 144,000 animals lost.

The Two-Way
African Elephant Population Declines By 30 Percent

NPR’s East Africa correspondent Eyder Peralta contributed to this story.

• elephant poaching
• Elephants