doomed elephants

[eve]

JOHANNESBURG: Up to 10,000 elephants are under threat of being killed as South Africa prepares to end its 10-year ban on culling the animals. The Government is expecting a global outcry from animal welfare groups, so there will be an 18-month consultation period before the cull, which would involve rounding up and shooting entire elephant family groups. Officials said action was vital to reduce the elephant population in the world-famous Kruger National Park to protect ancient trees, vegetation and water supplies on which other, rarer species depend. An adult elephant consumes about 170kg of vegetation a day.

Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said that between 7000 and 10,000 animals would be killed.

The elephant population in the Kruger Park, an area of about 20,000sq km, has doubled to 14,000 since the last cull in 1994. Scientists say the park cannot sustain a population of more than 7000 elephants without risking destruction of the habitats of rare antelopes, eagles and other threatened species.

In a cull, elephant families of about 20 mothers, aunts and babies are corralled into a small area by a helicopter, from which a game ranger immobilises the adults with tranquilliser darts. On the ground, other rangers kill the fallen elephants with a bullet to their heads. The babies are taken away and moved to other parks.
Above extracted from The Times

[TheOtherHand]

That's just ridiculous...animals are much better at regulating their population than people and if they *must* be reduced, why not remove all of the selected group rather than just the babies? It may be stressful for the animal, but probably not as stressful as watching your mum and aunties being shot before being moved...

grrrrrr

[tipsytop]

terrible, terrible, terrible.

[Roxy]

That's awful! How though, did the elephant population get so big? Or is it that they are confined to a park which is too small for their population?

[Gliondrach]

I'll write to the South African embassy here and I'll tell them that I'll boycott their goods, even their apples. I'll tell them that I'll advise everyone I know to join the boycott, and that I'll be writing to various newspapers. I'll also write to the Government in South Africa.

[Hasha]

How though, did the elephant population get so big?

Yeah... That's what I find bizarre, too. I thought animals were pretty good about regulating their numbers... Unless humans have been the elephants' natural enemies for quite some time so that the elephant population came to rely on humans to keep their numbers down (the way that, for example, zebras rely on the big cats, or rabbits on foxes, etc.); does anyone know?