Saturday, July 11, 2009

Malawi Elephants Given New Home

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) spent £200,000 to move 83 elephants, an entire herd, away from a village in Malawi to a wildlife reserve. It is believed to be the largest deliberate relocation ever. The human inhabitants of Mangochi and the elephants had been engaged in a sort of war for years. Elephants were eating and trampling crops planted in their former range, while impoverished humans were killed trying to stop Earth's largest land mammal from destroying their meager property. Dozens of elephants are believed to have died in a series of violent attacks by humans. Twenty farmers were trampled to death. Many of the elephants evacuated suffered injuries: seven amputated trunks caused by snares, foot injuries from traps, gunshot wounds, and in one case, blindness in one eye from a gunshot. Three elephants were still ensnared when captured. The epic effort lasted a month as fourteen separate groups were rounded up, sedated, and moved with cranes and trucks to Majete Wildlife Reserve south of Lake Malawi. The move was done safely without further injury to the elephants. The project is an inspiring ethical example of how human-wildlife conflicts should be resolved. Humans, as the reputedly thinking animal, must use their capacity for empathy and their technology to aid other animals attempting to survive in a rapidly changing world they cannot control. Green Kudos to the government of Malawi for participating in the evacuation with IFAW.

[photo: an elephant marked "B1" is moved safely to new home, IFAW]