2022-04-25 - Basel, Switzerland.
African bull elephant Tusker, who sired 13 calves at his previous zoo homes, has become a star attraction at Switzerland's Basel Zoo; not for fatherhood, but for his baffling skills in balancing huge tree trunks in his enclosure. At German Zoo Wuppertal, he fathered 13 calves with four different mothers. In 2019, Tusker then moved to the Netherlands to Rhenen. There, too, he fulfilled his duty impeccably, and he is now considered one of the most successful breeding bulls in Europe.
2021-03-25 - Gland, Switzerland.
Following population declines over several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat, the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is now listed as Critically Endangered and the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Before today’s update, African elephants were treated as a single species, listed as Vulnerable; this is the first time the two species have been assessed separately for the IUCN Red List, followin...
2020-11-02 - Zurich, Switzerland.
On August 19, 2020, an elephant cow named Omysha gave birth to her first calf. It was subsequently kicked to death by the herd, prompting an internal investigation. An assessment of the video recordings, with the help of external zoologists and elephant experts from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), concluded that calf barely moved after birth.
2020-10-15 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The new website, named ETIS Online, was produced following a request made at the 69th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee in 2017. The site aims to bolster the collection of data on seizures involving elephant specimens and access to such data by submitting Parties. The new functionalities will facilitate enriching data available for analysis to inform international policy relating to preventing and addressing illegal ivory trade.
2016-04-21 - Zuerich, Switzerland.
Druk, the oldest of the zoos elephants, found herself on the ground after a tussle with other members of the herd, the zoo said in a statement. Seeing that the elderly elephant didnt have the energy to stand up by herself, zookeepers called on Zurich city fire service to help.
2014-06-05 - Zurich, Switzerland.
The 11,000-square-metre park features six times the space of the previous enclosure and six water basins for the elephants to swim in. Visitors can get an aquarium view of them under the water in one of the basins, which has a glass wall. The cost of the elephant park was financed through foundation grants, legacies and sums donated by 5,500 individuals.
2013-10-31 - Basel, Switzerland.
On 23rd October, bull elephant Yoga (16) left Basel Zoo for Boras Zoo in Sweden. An articulated lorry and an extra large crate were required to transport the 4.6-ton bull. Yoga should be back in three years’ time for the opening of the new elephant enclosure. On Friday 25th October after 48 hours of travel, Yoga arrived safe and sound at Boras Zoo.
2013-06-02 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) received plans from China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania and Viet Nam – identified as primary source, transit and import countries affected by the illegal trade in ivory. The plans – which contain specific activities in the areas of legislation and regulations, national and international enforcement, outreach and public awareness – were requested by ...
2013-01-13 - Geneva, Switzerland.
Swiss border police made an unusual find when they searched a train in Basel at the weekend: an elephant tusk meticulously hidden in a Frenchman’s bag, police said on Wednesday. The man, only identified as a 40-year-old French national based in Italy, had tried to smuggle the tusk into Switzerland on a train from Frankfurt to Zurich on Sunday, border police said in a statement.
2013-01-11 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The Secretariat has corresponded with the CITES Management Authorities of Zimbabwe and China to ascertain the particular circumstances surrounding this trade and whether the procedures set out under Article IV of the Convention and Resolutions Conf. 10.21 and 11.20 were followed. This communication with the relevant Management Authorities is ongoing.
2012-12-26 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) welcomes the United Nations Security Council’s call for an investigation into the alleged involvement of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the poaching of African elephants and smuggling of their ivory. Through a statement read out by the current president of the body, Mr Mohammed Loulichki from Morocco, the Security Council called “on the United Nations and African Union ...
2012-03-22 - Rappersville, Switzerland.
Three overweight elephants at a Swiss circus will have to diet and work out in order to shed between 50 and 300 kilogrammes (110-660 pounds), Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported Wednesday. To help them lose weight, Circus Knie is not only putting them on a special and low-sugar diet but also making them work for their food. Hay barrels will now be suspended above the elephants´ heads, forcing them to make an effort to reach their food.
2010-07-29 - Basel, Switzerland.
Ruaha has died at Basel Zoo at the age of 59, which made her the world�s oldest African elephant in captivity, the zoo announced on Thursday. She was delivered to the zoo in 1952 along with four other young elephants. Ruaha was believed to be one year old at the time. A member of the zoo staff found her dead in the elephant enclosure on Thursday morning. The zoo said she probably died of old age, but will investigate the actual cause of death.
2009-10-21 - Geneva, Switzerland. Hui Min Neo
Asian demand for bluefin tuna, sharks' fins and ivory will come under scrutiny when 175 member states of the UN wildlife trade agency meet to consider trade restrictions, according to documents seen by AFP. Proposals to restrict or ban international trade in those three products are due to be studied when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) holds its next triennial meeting in Qatar next year.
2009-08-04 - Gland, Switzerland.
The IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group aims to undertake a study to improve understanding of the elephant meat trade on elephant populations in Central Africa. The study will elaborate on bushmeat research already undertaken throughout the region by a number of institutions, but will focus on the African elephant. The study will examine the dynamics, scale and impact of the elephant meat trade throughout the Central African subregion. The study will examine the trade in elephant meat as ...
2008-11-08 - Geneva, Switzerland.
A controversial series of legal ivory auctions in southern Africa should undercut poachers who have been charging exorbitant prices in key Asian markets, United Nations conservationists said Friday. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates international trade in endangered species, allowed four African countries South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe to hold one-off sales to buyers from China and Japan.
2008-08-28 - Geneva, Switzerland. Richard Williams
Sumatra's endangered elephants and tigers should get a boost from an Indonesian government move to expand one of their last havens, a four-year-old national park on the island, conservation body WWF said on Thursday. But WWF warned that increased efforts would be vital to ensure that poaching and other illegal activities -- like unsanctioned logging and settlement -- did not continue in the park, Tesso Nilo in Sumatra's Riau Province. "This is an important milestone towards securing a future for...
2008-05-14 - Geneva, Switzerland.
Elephants and other wildlife damage millions of dollars' worth of poor farmers' crops each year, which could be avoided with proper fencing and better land use, a leading environmental group said on Wednesday. The Swiss-based WWF, formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund, said wild elephants cost Namibian communal farmers $1 million a year, and up to a quarter of the household incomes of poor farming families in Nepal.
2008-01-18 - Zuerich, Switzerland.
Engaged by Zoo Zürich AG, the Amt für Hochbauten Stadt Zürich [Office for Building and Construction, City of Zurich] launches an anonymous open design competition (stage 1), followed by a study commission (stage 2, with 3-5 teams) in order to obtain projects for a new elephant facility at Zoo Zurich. The objective of the design competition is a new attractive and identity-establishing elephant park that fits well into the zoological garden and complies with the present company philosophy of t...
2007-02-28 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The future of ivory trading hangs in the balance with African countries divided over restrictions, CITES, the standing committee on protecting endangered plants and animals said Wednesday. The ivory trade is on the agenda in June when the 169 governments signed to the CITES Convention meet in The Hague to reconsider wildlife trade rules. It is unlikely that we will find a solution then, CITES Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers told journalists in Geneva.
2007-02-28 - GENEVA, Switzerland. BRADLEY S. KLAPPER
African countries are divided over banning or controlling international ivory trading, but need to reach a common position if they are to ensure the survival of the continents elephants. David Morgan, chief scientific officer at CITES, said African countries have filed three ivory proposals before the U.N. sponsored conservation bodys conference this June in The Hague, Netherlands, where 169 nations will debate new bans and quotas for trade in endangered species.
2006-11-06 - Gland, Switzerland.
Contact Information: IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Council Affairs Unit, Mrs. Fiona Hanson, Fax: 0041 22 999 0020
2006-10-08 - Geneva, Switzerland.
Japan meets the requirements to take part in a limited one-off sale of elephant ivory, according to a U.N.-sponsored group. Members of the 1989 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species agreed Friday that Japan has established sufficiently strong domestic controls on the sale of ivory to qualify as a trading partner. However, for the time being Japan cannot buy the consignment of 60 tons of ivory from three southern African countries because CITES decided Thursday to postpone a vot...
2006-10-05 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has decided not to allow exports of elephant ivory from Botswana (20 tonnes of ivory), Namibia (10 tonnes) and South Africa (30 tonnes) to proceed at this time. This issue will now be considered at the next meeting of the Standing Committee, which will take place in late May 2007 in The Hague, The Netherlands.
2006-10-04 - Geneva, Switzerland.
The sale of a huge cache of ivory is due to be given the go-ahead this week, in only the second legal sale since CITES banned the trade in 1989. At the time of going to press, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was expected to approve the shipment of 60 tonnes of ivory from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa for sale in Geneva on Wednesday.
2005-06-27 - Geneva, Switzerland.
Unregulated markets are continuing to trade ivory openly throughout Africa, an international wildlife monitoring network said ahead of a meeting on Monday at the organisation regulating the global trade in elephant tusks. The network run by the environmental group WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) called on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to toughen plans for a clampdown on domestic ivory markets.
2005-05-03 - Zuerich, Switzerland. Zurich zoo
The Zurich zoo welcomes its new member of the elephant family: On Tuesday, 03 May 2005 at 8.55 am, an elephant baby was born. This new born female elephant shall be called Farha (luck, joy). The elephant cow Ceyla-Himali and the calf are fine: the young calf is the seventh Asian elephant born at the Zurich zoo.
2002-10-04 - Geneva, Switzerland. CITES
Despite a virtually continuous ban on international trade in ivory since 1989, a series of analytical reports from the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) has revealed that a significant illegal trade in ivory continues.
1999-02-10 - Geneva, Switzerland. Richard Wilson,BBC
Game hunters will pay thousands of dollars to kill an elephant The 10-year old ivory ban has been lifted. The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has agreed to a one-off sale of nearly 60 tonnes of stockpiled ivory. The money raised by the sale will pay for conservation programmes in Africa. The decision was made after pressure from three southern African members at a meeting in Geneva.
1997-08-24 - Rappersvil, Switzerland.
Rolf Knie, a master elephant trainer who led Switzerland's foremost circus family for 50 years, died on Monday. He was 75. The cause of death was heart failure, said a Knie Circus spokesman, Hans Rathgeb. Mr. Knie, who was billed as the man who spoke to elephants, headed the...
2023-10-02 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) is proud to announce the dates for our 44th annual conference, hosted by both the Fort Worth Zoo and Dallas Zoo on October 2 to 5, 2023. The conference will inc...
2023-09-10 - Temerloh, Malaysia.
The female elephant, which died at the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre (PKGK) in Lanchang, was brought to the country from Assam, India in 1974. Lokimala was brought to this country...
2023-08-28 - Pattaya, Thailand.
Following Thai tradition, the offspring of Pang Sarai, 22, and Plai Ningnong, 27, was named ‘Plai Boonmak,’ symbolizing ‘Abundant Merit.’ This ceremony expressed heartfelt wishes for the well-...
2023-08-26 - Omaha, United States.
The baby elephant at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo officially has a name; Amandra. Pronounced “ah-MON-dra,” the name means “strong woman.” The zoo said it was chosen by a donor and their family. ...
2023-08-24 - Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Zoo’s nine-year-old elephant Man Jai has died after a sudden illness. The Asian elephant was diagnosed with an incurable disease on Monday after zookeepers noticed lethargy and swelling in...
2023-08-22 - Mysore, India.
Preparations are in full swing at the Mysore Palace premises ahead of the arrival of the Dasara elephants. The jumbos will camp here for approximately two months, undergoing training and consuming nut...
2023-08-21 - Kataragama, Sri Lanka.
An individual who fed a poisoned watermelon to an elephant called “ Asela” of the Kataragama Abhinawarama temple was taken into custody by the Kataragama police on saturday. However, Veterinary S...
2023-08-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Contraceptives are now being successfully used to prevent elephant overpopulation in South Africa. Approximately 75% of all breeding-age female elephants outside of the greater Kruger National Park ha...
2023-08-21 - Sapporo, Japan.
19-year-old Asian elephant Pearl and her newborn baby stand together at the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo. According to the zoo, this is the first time in Japan that an Asian elephant has been born ...
2023-08-18 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Two elephants at the Hanoi Zoo have been unchained after electric fences have been replaced anew. Le Si Dung, general director of the Hanoi Zoological Garden company, on Thursday said the two elephant...
2023-08-18 - Lampang, Thailand.
The Thai elephant, recently repatriated from Sri Lanka, Sak Surin, was moved to a new home today (Friday), at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province, after the completion of its 30-...
2023-08-16 - Wuhan, China.
Born on June 26, 2022, the male elephant marked the first time that the zoo successfully bred an African elephant. The calf's father, named A Hai, and his mother, named A Nan, came to Wuhan in 1997 fr...
2023-08-14 - Fresno, United States.
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated World Elephant Day with a big announcement. Zoo officials say their female African Elephants are pregnant. They are expected to give birth between September and Octob...
2023-07-05 - Lampang, Thailand.
It is out of question that Sak Surin, now the most famous elephant in Thailand, will have to return to Sri Lanka, as he is now under the patronage of HM the King, said Natural Resources and Environmen...
2023-07-04 - Lampang, Thailand.
On 2 July 2023 at 07.00 hrs. the Tusker, Muthu Raja (Sak Surin), was transported from Sri Lanka to Thailand for medical treatment and rehabilitation by Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane, with cooperation fro...
2023-05-27 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A team of veterinarians and experts will be sent to Sri Lanka next month to prepare for the return of Sak Surin, an ailing and ageing Thai elephant, to Thailand for medical treatment and physical reha...
2023-05-21 - Karachi, Pakistan.
A month after the death of Noor Jehan, an elephant in Karachi Zoo whose illness revived criticisms of the zoos, a second elephant named Madhubala is sick with a potentially fatal infection. The 18-yea...
2023-05-18 - , United States.
Callee, a 22-year-old male who has been at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since 2019, will be moved to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, the Omaha zoo announced on Thursday. Callee's move was...
2023-05-15 - Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
In the early evening of May 11, a small crowd gathered in front of the Zoológico Dr. Juan A. Rivero, hoping for one last peek of Mundi, the elephant symbol of the zoo shut down for animal abuse in M...
2023-05-09 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo made the heartbreaking announcement Tuesday that one of its elephants has died. The 7-year-old African elephant, Ajabu, passed away Monday after a 12-day battle with a viral infection, ...
