More elephant overpopulation trouble.

Booming elephant population wreaks havoc in Zimbabwe
http://www.thenational.ae/

Thulani Mpofu, Foreign Correspondent

* Last Updated: December 23. 2009 12:05AM UAE / December 22. 2009 8:05PM
GMT

KENNILWORTH // An increasing elephant population is forcing the animals from
wildlife reserves and into greater contact with people, leading to an
economic and environmental crisis in parts of Zimbabwe where some are
calling for greater numbers of the animals to be culled.

The World Wide Fund for Nature and African Wildlife Foundation estimate that
Zimbabwe has 110,000 elephants, above the optimum capacity of between 45,000
and 50,000. For communities living next to the wildlife reserves where the
elephants are flourishing, the increased numbers are proving dangerous,
destroying farmland, driving people from their homes and, at times,
trampling people to death.

In Kennilworth, 90km north of the capital Bulawayo, Relney Nqadini, a
villager, has started planting crops during torrential rains on his plot.
But harvests in this area are dependent not only on how much it rains, but
also whether elephants will spare the villagers' fields.

"In April this year, they ate all my crops, just as I was about to harvest,"
said Mr Nqadini. "Days of labour came to nothing as they [elephants]
destroyed everything we had planted. Even if it rains the way it is doing
now, this is not a guarantee for a good harvest."

The elephants that raid Kennilworth come from the nearby Debshan Ranch and
Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest animal sanctuary.

"They raid our fields at night," he said. "So we build bonfires and beat
drums to try to scare them away but they soon get used to the tricks."
Another villager in the area, Luke Mupengesi, said: "Sometimes if we make
fires, they get irritable and attack us, so we flee our homes into the
mountains."

When elephants raid their area, villagers seek help from Bubi rural district
council, the only authority that can kill problem animals in the area. But
often, Mr Mupengesi said, council officials are out of bullets for shooting
the animals or fuel to drive to their hideouts.

The elephant problem in Kennilworth is mirrored in other areas across
Zimbabwe. The elephant population is concentrated in the Hwange, Gonarezhou
and Chizarira national parks, but there are a significant number in private
conservancies.

Morris Mutsambiwa, the director-general of the Parks and Wildlife Management
Authority, said the population is rising by five per cent every year. He
said that due to their increasing numbers, elephants are not only a danger
to the environment, human beings and other wildlife, but to themselves.

From what I understand

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That's the problem you don't understand. These animals are nowhere near extinction. Maybe instead of watching TV you should go see for yourself.

It's already as low as it's ever been in the history of elephant hunting. People always get all twitterpated about the price of elephant hunting. Just like they do about the price of many things. Elephant hunts come in all shapes and sizes. You can do a P.A.C (problem animal control) elephant hunt for under $10,000 all in with multiple elephant on license. If you want to do a trophy bull hunt in Botswana or Tanzania plan then you need to plan on bringing some real money.

If a guy wanted to experience an elephant hunt which I highly recommend it will never be cheaper than right now. Just to put it in perspective You can hunt elephant cheaper than you can do a good guided elk hunt. Elephant hunting is an incredible experience especially cows in a herd situation. You can almost count on multiple charges on a single hunt and you can also plan on doing some running and dodging before it's all over. Elephant hunting is like no other type of hunting on the planet and it's needed now more than ever.

Ignorance is a shame.

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leadcouncil,

Well then you should be ashamed of yourself.

Elephants are indeed in danger of extinction in some African countries those in particular that that don't allow regulated sport hunting of them. If you are interested in becoming a bit less ignorant you should read several of the stickies at the top of this page.

There are multiple species of animals on your list that are not only thriving but have been saved exclusively by regulated sport hunting. The white rhino and the leopard are two of them.

Do you not understand the difference between poaching and regulated hunting? Regulated sport hunting is the ONLY thing that pays for anti poaching patrols. Without regulated sport hunting and the benefits that it provides to conservation there would be no elephants left in the wild. Kenya is the prime example of what happens when hunting is stopped in the name of animal well being.

Kenya's elephant population went from well over 100,000 to under 10,000 within ten years of the cessation of legal regulated hunting. All of a sudden elephants weren't worth protecting anymore and they were wiped out with the help I might add off the very government officials who were paid off by international animals rights organization top put a block on legal hunting in the first place.

And at the same time as the elephant populations were being decimated in Kenya in the countries that regulated and allowed sport hunting of elephants those populations started to skyrocket. As the elephants were being afforded protection by the hunting industry. The overpopulation issues arrived from the total cessation of Ivory sales and the lack of revenue from that ban no longer allowed for government culling as they were paying for the operation with the funds derived from elephant products.

What you don't get is that if you stop the legal hunting of elephant they lose their intrinsic value to the native at which point they are systematically wiped out as was done in Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and many other African countries.

Now lets talk about sport hunting of elephants. In Botswana there an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 elephants. And they issue approximately 300 elephant tags a year. Zimbabwe has about 120,000 elephant and they issue somewhere around 500 tags. These are issued for old generally non breeding bulls. The revenues from these hunts pay to keep wildlife blocks of hundreds of thousands of acres open and uninhabited they also pay for anti-poaching forces and schools jobs and education.

So in your now informed opinion what is the down side?

NO HUNTING NO ELEPHANTS it's that simple. And you can jump and scream and roll on the floor as much as you want but these are the facts. It been proven time and again.

Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators,[11] although lions may take calves or weak individuals.[12][13] They are, however, increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals according to a March 2007 estimate.[14] While the elephant is a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory, CITES reopening of "one time" ivory stock sales, has resulted in increased poaching. Certain African nations report a decrease of their elephant populations by as much as two-thirds, and populations in certain protected areas are in danger of being eliminated[15] Since recent poaching has increased by as much as 45%, the current population is unknown (2008).[16]

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Hey there lead,

If you are going to use a tool like Wikipedia it would be in your best interest to try and have a basic understanding of what you are reading. The above perfectly explains my point. Sport hunting is the TOOL used to combat poaching.

Now lets take a closer look at you list, I'll try and identify every animal that was put into danger by regulated sport hunting. I'll embolden everyone that either isn't endangered or has been revitalized directly by the sport hunting community. I will italicize all of those that are in danger due to commercial harvesting and or poaching and would be better off if they were regulated and derived funds from sport hunting. This should be fun.

African Elephant
African Wild Dog.....Mainly endangered due to canine distemper
American Alligator
Asian Lion
Atlantic Ridley
Atlantic Salmon
Bald Eagle
Black Footed Ferret
Black Lemur
Blue Whale
Bowhead Whale
California Condor
Carolina Parakeet
Cheetah
Chimpanzee
Coelacanth
Dodo
Eastern Cougar
Eskimo Curlew
Extinct Animals Yeah Ok what are you getting at here?
Extinct Birds Same as above emotional and purposely vague.
Extinct Mammals Ok you are truly grasping now.
Fin Whale
Florida Manatee
Galapagos Flightless Cormorant
Galapagos Flightless
Gaur
Gavial
Giant Anteater
Giant Armadillo
Giant Panda
Gorilla
Great Auk
Greater Prairie Chicken
Green Turtle
Grey Whale
Grizzly Bear
Humpback Whale
Imperial Parrot
Indian Rhinoceros
Jaguar
Japanese Crested Ibis
Kagu
Kakapo
Komodo Dragon
Leatherback Turtle
Leopard
Loggerhead Turtle
Mediterranean Monk Seal
Monkey Eating Eagle
Mountain Gorilla
Orangutan
Passenger Pigeon
Peregrine Falcon
Piping Plover
Pronghorned Antelope
Przewalski's Horse
Pygmy Hippopotamus
Sea Otter
Sei Whale
Shortnose Sturgeon
Snow Leopard
Takahe
Tapir Which one?
Tiger.. A direct correlation between the dramatic drop in population and cessation of regulated hunting.
Vancouver Island Marmot
White Pelican
White Rhinoceros
Whooping Crane
Wild Ass
Wild Yak

I'm guessing that you don't know that just about every single conservation project and endangered species revitalization in this country derives nearly all of it's funds from taxes placed on sporting goods? And that your little buddies at PETA and HSUS have never once given a single dime towards wildlife conservation?

its a waste of time to argue with people that think animals are more important than poor people.

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Trapper,
You are exactly right, Leadcouncil is spouting 100% pure Animal rights doctrine. There is no point in arguing with these people.