2012-08-08 - Pretoria, South Africa.
Previous field studies gave us important clues that elephants are a key driver of tree losses, but our airborne 3-D mapping approach was the only way to fully understand the impacts of elephants across a wide range of environmental conditions found in savannas," lead author Greg Asner of Carnegie´s Department of Global Ecology said in a press release.
2011-12-29 - Pretoria, South Africa.
SIX AFRICAN elephant conservation projects across the continent are the first to benefit from a new international trust fund set up last year to help protect the giant pachyderms. The selected projects, which have collectively been granted $150 000 (R1.2 million), include investigating regional illegal ivory markets, mitigating local human-elephant conflicts, providing equipment to rangers and strengthening the management of key protected areas.
2011-03-28 - Pretoria, South Africa.
On Monday 21st March 2011 we became parents to a baby girl. Lerata is her name and she is only seven days old. She is managed by Carol Thobela and Graeme Ogilvie and she doing well. Here she is being fed her hourly bottle of milk which she devours. Sadly she was too short and could not reach her mums teat, so could not feed - thus the desperate decision to pull her only 24 hours after her birth. But the vets are happy and so is the herd, mum is fine and seems to be content with the plans t...
2010-10-22 - Pretoria, South Africa.
A man gored by an elephant is suing a North West game lodge for R300 000, according to court papers. In papers lodged in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria this week, Andrew Falcon is demanding R300 000 from Three Cities Management Ltd, Madikwe River Lodge (Pty) Ltd and Madikwe River Lodge Management Ltd. He alleged that the lodge´s emergency medical procedures were so poor that he had to wait almost five hours before he could be evacuated for medical attention.
2010-03-08 - Pretoria, South Africa.
Animal Rights Africa and the DA have lambasted a top official in the department of environmental affairs for suggesting that culling some of the countrys elephants was "inevitable". Fundisile Mketeni, the departments deputy director-general for biodiversity and conservation, told parliaments portfolio committee on environmental affairs last week that the growing elephant population was a threat to national parks.
2009-10-02 - Pretoria, South Africa.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare says it has noticed an alarming increase in elephant poaching since the sale of about 100 tons of stockpiled ivory. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species sanctioned the once-off sale in October last year but IFAW says it opened the flood gates for poachers. The stockpiled ivory from four African countries, including South Africa, was sold for R114 million.
2009-10-01 - Pretoria, South Africa.
The distressed elephant cow that provoked an outcry from an animal rights group when it was spotted on an Mpumalanga game reserve's live webcam last week has been granted a temporary reprieve. "She is now keeping up with the herd and will not be euthanised unless she falls behind," Djuma Private Game Reserve owner Jurie Moolman told Sapa by phone this morning.
2008-10-17 - Pretoria, South Africa.
South Africa will sell 51 tons of stockpiled ivory on November 6 in a once-off sale to China and Japan, the Department of Environmental Affairs said on Wednesday. Chief executive of South African National Parks (SANParks) David Mabunda said the stockpile consisted of ivory that was verified by the secretariat of the UN-backed Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) as being of legal origin with data to back the origins. “The ivory emanates from SANParks, Mpumalanga ...
2008-07-17 - Pretoria, South Africa. Michael Appel
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) standing committee on Wednesday authorised a decision taken last year for a once-off sale of ivory. The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has welcomed the decision. Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are now authorised to make a once off sale of a total of 108 tons of government-owned ivory, the department said in a statement on Wednesday. The following quantities of raw ivory have been approved for sale:...
2008-06-12 - Pretoria, South Africa.
Elephant culling at the Kruger National Park is unnecessary and not a last option, the Earth organisation said on Wednesday. Founder of the group, Lawrence Anthony, said the assertion that culling was only a last option was a method cleverly designed to try to sell the slaughter to an unwilling public. "The decision to cull is based on emotion. Credible science demonstrates that the cull is unnecessary. "The public is being asked to accept an unpopular decision which has no support among respect...
2008-03-03 - Pretoria, United States.
The Elephant Tourism Association (ETA) has welcomed the environmental affairs and tourism minister's terms of the norms and standards of elephant management, it said on Friday. "The ETA applauds the minister and his department on the exhaustive public process they recently completed leading to the issuing of the norms and standards for elephant management in South Africa," the association said in a statement.
2008-03-03 - Pretoria, South Africa.
The Government of South Africa says it will think about allowing some elephants to be killed as it says there are too many of the big beasts in the country. The plan to kill or 'cull' elephants has divided opinion in South Africa. African elephants have been protected since 1995, but the ban on hunting them will be lifted on 1 May. Press Packers Quintin and Erin both live in South Africa, but have different opinions on the matter.
2008-03-03 - Pretoria, South Africa. Kathleen Costello
Scientists discovered this trait after studying the mammals mourning dead relatives in their natural environment. They also know that elephants are highly intelligent, demonstrate empathy and live within complex social structures. (Young elephants need to be taught elaborate social behaviors by adults in order to survive.) These are just a few of the reasons why killing a herd of elephants is more humane than killing a few individuals, experts say. This theory will be tested in South Africa, sta...
2008-03-02 - Pretoria, South Africa. Chris Barron
After a 14-year moratorium, the government has approved elephant culling to protect the environment. Chris Barron asked Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk. Q: Is there enough scientific evidence that elephants are threatening biodiversity? A: The science is evolving all the time, but I believe the scientific evidence we have now is adequate to defend the decision.
2008-02-28 - Pretoria, South Africa.
The Humane Society of the United States and its international arm, Humane Society International, today applauded new regulations on elephant management announced by the South African government on Monday. The new regulations will ban the capture of elephants for commercial exhibition facilities such as elephant back safari industries or circuses, prohibit the import and export of captive elephants and prevent intensive breeding of captive elephants, other than natural birth, beginning May 1, 200...
2008-02-26 - Pretoria, South Africa. The Born Free Foundation
Leading animal protection and conservation organization, The Born Free Foundation, expressed utter disappointment today after Environmental Minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk announced that government-sanctioned elephant culling will become official policy on Friday 29 February, 2008. This would end the culling ban introduced in 1994, the year that free elections in the RAINBOW Nation ended apartheid for good.
2008-02-26 - Pretoria, South Africa. Guy Rogers
A NEW policy for managing South Africa‘s elephants lifts the 17-year-old moratorium on culling jumbos – but emphasises that this measure will be approved only as a “last resort”. Announcing the final norms and standards for elephant management at a briefing in Pretoria yesterday, Environment and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said his department recognised the need to maintain culling as a management option. “But we have taken steps to ensure this will be the option of last r...
2008-02-25 - Pretoria, South Africa. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
Elephant management in South Africa At approximately this time a year ago, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) published the Draft Norms and Standards for Elephant Management for public comment. Intense public interest was generated and we are now ready to publish a final version that has benefited significantly from the public commentary and consultative processes. It was to be expected that strong emotions would be part of this debate. There are few other creatures on earth ...
2007-08-14 - Pretoria, South Africa.
South Africa has received the go-ahead to sell its stockpiled elephant ivory stocks to Japan, but has not done so because it is waiting for provinces to tell government how much they have for sale. “We are writing to the provinces to verify how much ivory... is in their possession, and come up with a total,” environmental affairs biodiversity and heritage chief director Leseho Sello told MPs on Tuesday.
2006-11-24 - Pretoria, South Africa. Shakespeare A, Strydom S., Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria
A practical method was developed to assess the extent of burns suffered by elephants caught in bush fires. In developing this method, the surface areas of the different body parts of juvenile, subadult and adult elephants were first determined using standard equations, and then expressed as a percentage of the total body surface area. When viewed from a distance, the burnt proportion of all body segments is estimated, converted to percentages of total body surface area, and then summed to determ...
2005-10-18 - Pretoria, South Africa. Hanti Otto
Two elephant calves rescued from the Pilanesberg National Park after a horrendous veld fire in September have died of lung damage from inhaling smoke. A third elephant also has respiratory problems and is being monitored. This elephant has burns over 90% of its body. The two calves, aged 14 and 16 months, died within three days of each other.
2005-10-02 - Pretoria, South Africa.
I have been following the deliberations and statements on elephant culling with considerable interest. The minister of environmental affairs is quite right to consider options with caution. I was initially relieved when SanParks consulted scientists from outside in dealing with the problem of whether elephants reduce biodiversity within the Kruger National Park and, if so, whether to cull them. I gather from colleagues who attended these earlier meetings that there is not a shred of evidence in ...
2005-09-20 - Pretoria, South Africa. Sky News
South Africa has said it wants to carry out culls to contain its elephant population.Officials said a final decision would be made early next year after public consultations.Such a move is sure to provoke a global outcry from animal welfare groups who view the practice, which involves the rounding up and shooting of entire family groups, as cruel.
2004-10-25 - Pretoria, South Africa. Leon Marshall, Pretoria News
Massive elephant culling is on the cards for southern Africa to reduce the vast over-population that is causing havoc in many of the sub-continent's nature reserves. Proposals to this end were made this week at a major conference convened by South African National Parks to come up with solutions for the critical problem. It included parks managers, game rangers, conservationists, academics, community representatives and animal-rights groups.
2004-10-22 - Pretoria, South Africa. Dirk Nel, BuaNews
The drafting of a national elephant strategy was one of several important proposals tabled at South Africa's Great Elephant Indaba, which ended in the Kruger National Park yesterday. In addition, several short- and long-term objectives for elephant management were suggested, for submission to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
2004-10-20 - Pretoria, South Africa. Dirk Nel, BuaNews
The great elephant debate here today took an emotive turn, when animal rights groups passionately pleaded for the elimination of culling as a possible option to manage the country's oversized elephant population.
2004-10-14 - Pretoria, South Africa. Sharon Hammond BuaNews
The upcoming Great Elephant Debate is not a ploy to reintroduce elephant culling, insisted chief executive of South African National Parks David Mabunda today. He said the event, scheduled for 19 to 21 October, simply aimed to open debate and identify ways in which to manage elephant populations.
2003-02-04 - PRETORIA, South Africa.
Student elephant handler Wayne Stockigt told a court on Monday that he did not think it was cruel to hit an elephant, whether it be with a stick or a fist. He admitted to a televised video showing him beating an elephant with a broken broomstick, but said he had been taught to do so by expert Indonesian handlers to discipline elephants. Stockigt was testifying in the Pretoria Regional Court where he is standing trial for allegedly maltreating 30 Tuli elephants bro...
1990-08-23 - Pretoria, South Africa. J. C. Vogel, B. Eglington & J. M. Auret, Nature 346, 747 - 749
In theory, we have a way of pinpointing the origin of elephant ivory, which may be of value in conservation. Here we report that by analysing the isotope ratios of these elements, a clear distinction between several different populations of the African elephant can be made.
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