Poachers have massacred a herd of 15 elephants in the Samburu reserve in Kenya, just a few weeks after a family of 10 were slaughtered in the country鈥檚 vast Tsavo East National Park.
The leader of one of the two gangs behind the first attack was tracked down, but was killed in a gunfight, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Wardens tracking the gang recovered AK-47s and rifle-propelled grenades, as well as some of the hidden ivory.
Joe Kioko, director of the KWS, says poaching in Kenya has increased over the past 12 months. Kioko believes poachers are stepping up their attacks, in advance of a crucial meeting on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in November. Countries led by South Africa and Zimbabwe are expected to push for the convention to be changed, to allow trading in existing stockpiles of ivory.
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But wildlife experts say it would be difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory. 鈥淎nd whenever there has been a legal trade in ivory, there has always been a heightened illegal trade surrounding it,鈥� says Will Travers, director of the UK-based Born Free Foundation.
鈥淰ery, very stretched鈥�
The KWS says that in the past, they have seen increases in poaching prior to CITES conferences, on the basis of speculation that trade rules will be relaxed.
鈥淭hat could well be part of the issue this time,鈥� says Travers. 鈥淏ut the other side of it is that, certainly towards the end of 2001, the Kenyan tourist trade and the economy as a whole has suffered 鈥� and the resources available for KWS to be out in the field have been reduced. They鈥檙e very, very stretched, and it doesn鈥檛 take long for that kind of information to get around the poaching community.鈥�
Poachers are also targeting other protected animals, including rhinoceroses in the Tsavo East National Park.
The recent killings do not pose an immediate threat to Kenya鈥檚 population of about 30,000 elephants. 鈥淏ut the situation could easily deteriorate further into a catastrophe,鈥� says Travers. 鈥淎nd we are also concerned about other countries we don鈥檛 hear much about. DR Congo, the Central African Republic and southern Sudan used to have huge numbers of elephants but in all likelihood many of those have already been killed.鈥�
The available information on elephant numbers in Africa suggests that the slowing of the decline once seen has reversed in the past three years, says Travers: 鈥淲e could be down to around 400,000 鈥� around 30 per cent of the elephants that existed 20 years ago. By any standard that is a catastrophe.鈥�
It is impossible to predict how the CITES vote on stockpile trading will go, he adds: 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 convinced there will be quite a lot of pressure for a change, and that would have serious and long-term damaging effect on numerous elephant populations.鈥�