2004-12-29 - Harare, Zimbabwe. UPI
Zimbabwe's wildlife management authority plans to cull some elephants to control the jumbo population. The authority says the problem has caused serious damage to the biodiversity, driving other smaller animal species to extinction, the Harare Chronicle reported.
2004-12-27 - Jashpur (Chattisgarh), India. India News
Several villagers in the Jashpur district of Chhatisgarh were rendered homeless when wild elephants created havoc and caused widespread damage recently. Only rubble remained after a dozen wild elephants created havoc, and the villagers had to abandon their homes in fear of their lives. The terror stricken villagers are now taking shelter in nearby villages, with some of them staying in open lands and others living in a cluttered room.
2004-12-25 - SAN FRANCISCO, United States. Jane Meredith Adams, Special to the Tribune
Convinced that elephants at the San Francisco Zoo have led a miserable existence, the Board of Supervisors here has approved a law that will make it difficult for the zoo ever to keep elephants again. The law, which requires the creation of a 15-acre habitat before elephants can return to the zoo, comes as animal welfare groups nationwide are questioning whether zoos can provide an adequate environment for the world's largest land mammals.
2004-12-24 - Auckland, New Zealand. Press Release: Auckland Zoo
What do Auckland Zoo’s elephants Kashin and Burma want to make their festive season complete? They want bamboo, and lots of it. Kashin and Burma chew through a trailer-load of bamboo every couple of days as part of their regular diet, and it is a challenge for zoo staff to keep up with demand.
2004-12-23 - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
"A very tragic incident, but no one's fault" An express train has collided with a herd of wild elephants in Sri Lanka. One elephant was killed and two others badly injured in the accident in Anuradhapura district, about 160km (100 miles) north of the capital Colombo. The train's engine was derailed in the collision, but none of the 500 passengers was hurt.
2004-12-22 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Stuff Nwes
There are no easy answers when it comes to keeping the world's largest land mammal in check. A century ago, southern Africa's elephants were driven close to extinction by indiscriminate ivory hunting. Now there are so many of them that experts say they are threatening the environment. South Africa National Parks (Sanparks) says it may have no choice but to resume culling in the Kruger National Park, which is home to most of the country's roughly 17,000 elephants.
2004-12-22 - Seneca, United States. Katrina Irwin, WROC-TV
Despite a controversial history, plans to expand the Seneca Park Zoo are moving ahead. There will be a new home for the elephants, including the baby elephant that's due in March of 2006. A new enclosed exhibit will create room for the calf Genny C is expecting and will also teach visitors more about elephants. Zoo Executive Director Rachel August says, "As part of the exhibit, we hope to build an interpretive education component. It's not only to provide the basics, like what...
2004-12-20 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Florence Wickramage, Sri Lanka Daily News
Two more wild elephants met with a railway accident Friday morning at the 137 and a half mile post on the Habarana-Kantale Railway track. The she elephant was seriously injured while the young elephant died on the spot. This is the second accident to occur at the very spot which claimed the lives of two wild elephants nearly two months ago.
2004-12-19 - Nairobi, Kenya. IPP Media
Since the pioneering behavioural studies of Iain Douglas-Hamilton in Tanzania and Cynthia Moss in Kenya, the Wildlife Conservation Society has provided major support to elephant research and conservation throughout Africa. WCS scientists have developed new techniques for elephant research and monitoring, including forest elephant census methods, aerial videography, genetics, acoustics, and the first satellite telemetry of forest elephants.
2004-12-19 - MBOMO, Congo. Khaleej Times
Ivory poaching is rife in a national park in the north of the Congo Republic because unemployment is rife here, too. Just out of jail after a three-month sentence for illicit ivory trafficking, Jean is already all set for his next elephant hunt in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
2004-12-19 - Brussels, Belgium. TRAFFIC
On 15 November 2004, the Minister of Environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) opened a four-day CITES training workshop in Kinshasa. It brought together 24 nationals including government officers, scientists and local wildlife trade stakeholders. The main aims of the workshop were to provide an overview of CITES and it mechanisms, explain in details the role and tasks of each authorities and increase awareness of wildlife trade issues in the context of CITES provisions. The w...
2004-12-18 - Bangkok, Thailand. The Associated Press
Elephants in a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand are using their oversize bodies as road blocks, ambushing vehicles transporting sugar cane, tapioca and fruit, the sanctuary's chief says. The estimated 200 elephants in the Khao-Ang Rue-Ni sanctuary turn desperate and wily in the dry season, when water and food supplies shrink. It's then that the animals stage their heists, Yuo Senatham said.
2004-12-16 - Johannesburg, South Africa. World Bank Group
Achieving a balanced coexistence in southern Africa's Mid-Zambezi Valley between subsistence farmers and wild animals can be tricky. During the last 20 years elephants have been hemmed in by the increasing number of people moving into the area in search of arable land. As a result, the animals increasingly destroy crops as they roam and search for food.
2004-12-15 - Nairobi, Kenya. The East African Standard
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) yesterday advised farmers within the elephant migrating corridors to plant crops not preffered by wild animals. Laikipia deputy game warden Nixon Korir said farmers could also erect electric fences around their farms since it was impossible to control the movement of elephants during the migration season.
2004-12-11 - Hanoi, Vietnam. Channel News Asia
Vietnamese police have found some 730 kilogrammes of smuggled elephant tusks, which is banned for trading in the country. It was from a warehouse in Hanoi's Long Bien district that 276 elephant tusks were recovered. They had been chopped up and packed into 40 sacks, alongside dried fish, for easy transport. The haul is reportedly worth over 7.3 billion Vietnamese Dong, or about US$463,000. Police say it's the largest amount of smuggled tusks to ...
2004-12-08 - Calgary, Canada. CTV.ca News Staff
The three-week-old baby elephant rejected by its mother at the Calgary Zoo has died. The Asian elephant, who had yet to be named, had been fighting an infection and slipped into a coma Tuesday afternoon. "It's a tough time for us here at the Calgary Zoo," zoo president Alex Graham told a news conference Wednesday. "In a very short time, we became very fond of a very special little girl. And yesterday, we said good-bye," Graham said, tearing up. Late W...
2004-12-07 - JOHOR BARU, Malaysia. The Malaysia Star
The Wildlife Department must capture and relocate elephants roaming in the Tenang constituency because the animals are a threat to the safety of villages in the area, said its assemblyman. Datuk Sulaiman Taha (BN – Tenang) said in recent months, a herd of seven to eight elephants were seen roaming in several Felda schemes and villages located near Labis.
2004-12-07 - Khurda, Orissa, India. Sampad Mahapatra, NDTV.com
There was panic in the district town of Khurda, as a herd of wild elephants from the nearby Chandka sanctuary strayed into paddy fields. Khurda is barely 25 kilometres away from Bhubaneswar. The herd of elephants caused massive damage to the standing paddy crop. Worse still, the crowd that gathered on the spot obstructed the escape route for the elephants.
2004-12-07 - Tuli Block, Botswana. Vivien Horle, Cape Argus
While questions regarding their fate need answering, the pachyderms have major champions in game guide Bashi Patane and ecologist Jeanetta Selier. Jeanetta Selier laughs in embarrassment. "No, I'm not an elephant whisperer," she says. "But I do talk to them. I talk to them all the time." We're in a game-viewing vehicle in a dry river bed in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve in eastern Botswana, and a group of about 15 elephants are going about their business just 20m away.
2004-12-07 - Nairobi, Kenya. Isaac Ongiri, The East African Standard
Who is killing Africa’s elephants and encouraging the trade on ivory? With the global ban on ivory trade still in place, the precious elephant tusks are increasingly becoming marketable worldwide, further endangering the lives of the African elephant, mostly targeted for elimination by poachers. And with ready and secret markets in some Asian and European countries, the population of the African elephant is endangered today as it was when the ban was put in ...
2004-12-06 - JOHOR BARU, Malaysia. New Straits Times
The owner of the Royal London Circus has offered the Terengganu Government help to rehabilitate rogue elephants that have been destroying farms in the State. Paul L.B. Lee, who is the president and producer of the circus, said he had made the offer to the Terengganu Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan). Lee said he had the expertise to train the wild elephants so that they could be "useful" to the people.
2004-12-06 - PARLIAMENT, Botswana. Botswana Daily News
The ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism in Botswana has sold 664 hunting licenses for elephants in the past five years and P10 358 000 has been realised from the sales. The minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism Kitso Mokaila told parliament on Thursday that export levies for elephant trophies over the same period amounted P520 712.
2004-12-06 - Ha Noi, Vietnam. Vietnam News Agency
Ha Noi (VNA) - Director of the Duc Minh Import Export Joint Stock Company Nguyen Duc Minh and his wife have been charged with the smuggling of 730 kg of elephant tusks, trade in which is banned in Viet Nam. Minh and his wife had fled right after the ivory was found at the company's warehouse on Nguyen Van Cu street in the Long Bien District, Ha Noi, early Dec. 4.
2004-12-06 - BALING, Malaysia. The Malaysia Star
A wild elephant was shot dead on Saturday after it destroyed several vegetable farms, orchards and two houses. However, its tusks were missing when National Forest and Wildlife Protection Department officers went to clear the animal's carcass at about 12.30pm yesterday. It was left unattended between 10am and noon yesterday, when the tusks were believed stolen. The elephant was said to be between five and six years old and weighed almost one tonne.
2004-12-06 - Chitwan, Nepal.
Scotland are celebrating sporting glory after being crowned world champions of elephant polo. The Duke of Argyll captained the Chivas team to victory in the Elephant Polo World Championships in Nepal. They beat National Parks of Nepal 12-6 to regain the world title they last won in 2001. Arriving back in the UK, the jubilant Duke said: "No one can deny Scotland are one of the world's sporting heavyweights."
2004-12-04 - Detroit, United States. TERESA MASK and HUGH McDIARMID JR.
Wanda and Winky -- two aging elephants at the heart of a bitter struggle between the Detroit Zoo and its accrediting organization -- will be headed to a sanctuary after all. In a pact Friday, the zoo, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the Columbus Zoo and the San Antonio Zoo, which owns Wanda, agreed the sanctuary would be best for both animals.
2004-12-02 - Nairobi, Kenya. Mail and Guardian
A project to clear landmines along paths used by elephants in a wildlife sanctuary in Angola during migratory periods was launched at a conference on landmines in Nairobi on Thursday. The project, to clear mines along the migratory paths in Luiana Partial Reserve in eastern Angola linking them to parks in Botswana and Zambia, was launched by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jody Williams.
2004-12-02 - Lahad Datu, Malaysia. Daily Express
The Wildlife Department recovered a homemade buckshot believed to have been used in the gruesome killing of a pygmy elephant at Sungai Dewata, about Km 36 of the Lahad Datu-Kunak road here, mid November. District officer-in-charge, Stephen Sira Gibin, said the bullet was retrieved from the skull of the dead elephant early this week. "The bullet is similar to that of an ordinary buckshot but longer. We believe it is a homemade ammunition,"...
2004-11-30 - Sydney, Australia. International Fund for Animal Welfare press release
International experts told a Sydney news conference on Tuesday how demand from zoos and theme parks is driving the illegal trade of endangered Asian elephants from countries such as Thailand. Representatives from Thailand and India have flown to Australia because a request by zoos is currently before the Federal Environment Minister, Senator Ian Campbell, to import nine new Asian elephants for a captive breeding program.
2004-11-30 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. KELLY PROCTOR, Red and Black
A helicopter hovers low over the African savanna. Richard Fayrer-Hosken loads his gun and takes careful aim at his prey. A dart -- filled with a specially-developed contraceptive -- slams into the grey hide of a six-ton African elephant. Fayrer-Hosken, a professor and researcher of large animal medicine in the University's College of Veterinary Medicine, developed a contraceptive to control the elephant population in South Africa's Kruger...
2004-11-30 - Chester, United Kingdom. Quentin Reade
Chester Zoo has been fined £25,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 costs after a keeper was butted to death by an elephant in 2001. Richard Hughes was helping to move a 30-year-old female elephant between pens when the animal lashed out and then headbutted him three times. Yesterday at Chester Crown Court, professor Gordon Reid, director of the North of England Zoological Society, which runs the Zoo, admitted to breaching the Health & Safety Act.
2004-11-29 - Fort Worth, United States. U.S. Newswire
The fate of elephants is the focus of an intensive weeklong international elephant conservation workshop December 1-5 hosted by the Fort Worth Zoo and attended by more than 100 participants from around the globe. Leading elephant biologists and experts gather during the conference to accomplish one heroic goal, saving elephants from extinction.
2004-11-28 - Sabah, Malaysia. Terra Daily
Poachers have killed a rare pygmy elephant on Malaysian Borneo and removed its tusks, according to a report citing a wildlife official. It is the second time in less than two months that a pygmy elephant in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island has been slaughtered by poachers. The New Sunday Times newspaper said the carcass of an adult male pygmy elephant was discovered near Lahad Datu on the east coast of the state some 10 days ago. I...
2004-11-27 - New Guwahati, India. Bano Haralu, NDTV.com
The callous manner in which four elephants were being transported out of Assam comes as a shocking instance of negligence. Especially for a state that has an Elephant Festival listed on its official calendar of events. For the last four days, the elephants were crammed in a parcel van parked at the railyard in New Guwahati. They were finally rescued by the railway police.
2004-11-27 - London, United Kingdom. By Cahal Milmo, THe Independent
First there were 14 shaving bowls with a tortoiseshell inlay worth £800 each. Then came the rest - 174 nailbrush handles, carvings and assorted accessories awaiting completion in cardboard boxes with a total value of £85,000. It may sound like the inventory of a high-class male grooming supplier, but these items represent part of the stockpile that is fuelling Britain's latest thriving trade in an illegal substance - ivory.
2004-11-26 - Guwahati, India.
Dispur today ordered a probe into allegations that four elephants, seized at the Guwahati railway station yesterday, were being cruelly treated. They were being taken to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The state government has also asked the forest department to look into allegations that the city was becoming a major transit point for smuggling of wildlife from the region, sources said.
2004-11-25 - GUWAHATI, India.
A Task Force will be constituted in Assam to suggest ways to preserve the elephant habitat with a view to reducing the ever-increasing man-elephant conflict, protection of endangered species and other wildlife issues.
2004-11-25 - Calgary, Canada.
The life of a nine-day-old Asian elephant at the Calgary Zoo is at risk after she was rejected by her mother. Born to first-time mother Maharani, the calf is being kept inside and out of sight for the next few days, until zookeepers determine whether her mother might change her mind. Maharani's nine-day-old baby Head elephant keeper Bob Kam says it's uncommon, but not unheard of, for first-time mothers to avoid their babies.
2004-11-23 - London, United Kingdom. Rachel STevenson, Independent Online
Police have seized illegal ivory worth more than R900 000 after a series of raids in London and Gloucester, proof that the banned trade is still thriving in the UK. About 80kg of raw, uncut ivory was found alongside 141 ivory products, making the raid one of the biggest seizures in recent years. Investigations by the Metropolitan Police and Traffic International, the global organisation dedicated to banning illegal trade in wildlife, led officers...
2004-11-22 - London, United Kingdom. BBC
Traders openly selling illegal animal products such as ivory in UK shops cannot be arrested because of a government "slip-up", it has emerged. Primary legislation banning the trade went through last year. But a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said "secondary legislation" was needed for it to be able to prosecute. The impasse emerged after £85,000 of ivory and tortoiseshell goods were seized in police raids last wee...
2004-11-22 - PARLIAMENT, Botswana. Botswana Daily News
Large concentration of elephant herds in the Ngamiland area has become dangerous to the eco-system hence the need to develop strategies to address the situation. MP for Maun West, Ronald Ridge told Parliament on November 18 that elephants in the area destroy trees that protect the Okavango Delta.
2004-11-22 - Uttara Kannada, India. The Hindu
A herd of 12 elephants and a calf are causing havoc in Mundgod taluk in Uttara Kannada district. The elephants are wandering in Byanalli, Talakeri, Hanumpaur, Kurli, and Gunjavati forest areas. The Assistant Conservator of Forests, K.S. Naik, said that 85 cases of crop destruction had been reported. The loss had been estimated at around Rs. 3 lakhs. The forest staff and the villagers were trying to scare the elephan...
2004-11-22 - PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Thailand. MCOT News
National park officials in Thailand's southern province of Prachuab Khiri Khan Province are seeking urgent measures to ensure that wild elephants living in the Kuiburi National Park are not harmed by local pineapple farmers during the coming dry season. Mr. Boonlue Phoonnil, the park's head, warned today that the current drought conditions were likely to push the 150-plus elephants out of the jungle and into local pineapple fields in a desperate search for food.
2004-11-22 - JOHANNESBURG, South Africa. Moyiga Nduru, Ijnter Press Service News Agency
Hope for the survival of many of Africa's unique animals lies in multinational cooperation initiatives like the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, although the challenges remain enormous, say conservationists. The park, situated on the South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe borders, is one of the world's largest, with an area of 35,000 square kilometres, almost the size of Israel. The treaty to create the parks was signed in Xai-Xai, Mozambique, in...
2004-11-19 - New Delhi, India. The Hindu
The Supreme Court today directed the Project Elephant Director to take note of the death of 77 pachyderms in the Nagerhole area of Karnataka between April and October this year and take remedial measures to prevent its recurrence.
2004-11-18 - Panaji, India. New kerala.com
Herds of wild elephants, straying into areas bordering Goa lured by the sugarcane crops and water reserves, are causing havoc to villages and residents have urged that the pachyderms be relocated to sanctuaries. Villagers living along the Maharashtra-Goa border areas have started using torches and sticks to frighten the elephants that trample crops, the only source of livelihood for most people.
2004-11-17 - Cape Town, South Africa. Asiannews.it
The first load of Chinese-made armoured personnel carriers have arrived in the Zimbabwean capital Harare, with riot gear, mobile water cannons and other equipment soon to follow. China recently concluded a US$ 240 million arms deal with Zimbabwe in defiance of international sanctions against the troubled southern African nation.
2004-11-17 - Calgary, Canada.
The Calgary Zoo is delighted to announce the arrival of a 110 kg. (242 lb.) female Asian elephant calf born to parents Maharani (14 years) and Spike (23 years) at 11:42 pm on November 16, 2004, following a 21 month gestation period. Grandma Kamala (29 years) and Auntie Swarna (29 years) looked on when the baby emerged onto a soft bedding of wheat bran.
2004-11-15 - OMDURMAN, Sudan. Andrew England, Financial Times
All manner of trinkets and goods are available in the famous market here, just north of Khartoum: broken pocket watches from the colonial era, camel whips, Koranic charms and swords from Sudan's ancient tribes. But it is the ivory figurines of naked women and elephants' tusks carved into crocodiles with gaping jaws that dominate.
2004-11-15 - Chhattisgarh, India. Central Chronicle
It was a sight straight out from the Jatak tales. An elephant crushes the wall of a well to rescue his pachyderm companions. Four wild elephants had accidentally fallen into a well while they were straying in Tendugudi village near Pathalgaon yesterday. One else of their group who was standing nearby ealised the seriousness of the situation and started pushing the wall of the well with his feet.
2004-11-14 - Ranchi, India. New kerala.com
The recovery of 50 kg of ivory from a house in Jharkhand has led forest department officials to fear that ivory smuggling in the state is continuing on a large scale. Ranchi police raided a house in Khuti sub division, 30 km from the state capital, and recovered four pieces of ivory weighing 50 kg and arrested the son of a retired army man Saturday.
2004-11-14 - GAUHATI, India. Wasbir Hussain, The Associated Press
Wild elephant herds have been terrorizing India's remote northeast, killing people, flattening houses and even guzzling local rice-beer supplies, prompting villagers to retaliate against the pachyderms with firecrackers and bonfires. With an estimated 5,000 elephants, Assam state has the largest concentration of wild Asiatic elephants in India, said M.C. Malakar, Assam's chief wildlife warden.
2004-11-07 - KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia. K. SUTHAKAR, The Star
The Wildlife Department may resort to culling of elephants in Terengganu if their population increases rapidly. State Wildlife Department director Ahmad Shamsuddin Shaari said culling was “standard practice” in wildlife management to prevent animals from becoming a pest. There are an estimated 120 elephants in Terengganu, including some that were relocated here from other states.
2004-11-04 - Kariba, Zimbabwe.
I have recently returned from a trip to Kariba where I saw several elephants that had been unfortunate enough to wander into wire snares in Bumi Hills and Mapongola Hills. With the decline of the economy, more and more snares are being laid to capture animals for food and poaching is on the increase because the locals are starving and will do anything to obtain food. The snares are probably not intended for the elephants but they are causing great suffering and painful lingering deaths amongst t...
2004-11-04 - PETALING JAYA, Malaysia. The Star
Mystery surrounds the death of two elephants supposedly hit by a train along the railway track near Labis – only one of them was grazed by the train and it was still alive after that. One of the dead elephants was found with its trunk missing and an ear partially cut off.
2004-11-03 - SEGAMAT, Malaysia. MAIZATUL NAZLINA, The Star
Two female elephants crossing a railway track were hit and killed by a passenger train travelling to Johor Baru from Kuala Lumpur, here on Monday evening. They were with four other elephants, which escaped unhurt, and all six are believed to have come out from the Endau-Rompin part of Taman Negara in Sungai Karas, Labis.
2004-11-03 - Johannesburg, South Africa. Chris Van Gass, Business Day
SANParks will have an elephant management plan in place by the end of October next year, designed to reduce the "exorbitant" number of elephants in SA, Parliament's portfolio committee on environment was told yesterday. David Mabunda, CE of the organisation that manages the country's 20 national parks, said a task team would be established soon to take the process forward and by the beginning of March a draft of the plan would be put before the SANParks board ...
2004-11-02 - Nairobi, Kenya. Peter Lemeteki, The Nation
An activist yesterday asked the Kenya Wildlife Service to control the killings of elephants. Saying the animals could soon become extinct, the Samburu Wildlife Forum chairman, Mr James Lenges, said last month, more than 100 elephants were killed by poachers in different areas of the district.
2004-11-01 - Beijing, China. Zhang Guanghua, Voice of America
Chinese officials have been unable to curb its flourishing illegal ivory trade, despite signing the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora in 1980, which bans killing elephants for trade purposes. Since 1990, China has held the dubious title of the world’s largest importer of illegal ivory. Their inability to stop importation coincides with a flawed record in domestic wildlife protection.
2004-11-01 - Nairobi, Kenya. Muchiri Gitonga, The Nation
Government departments have been blamed for the delay in erecting an electric fence to ward off wild animals at Mt Kenya National Park. Aid Kenya, an NGO, called for an end to the delay, saying herds of elephants had destroyed acres of crops in Kieni, Nyeri, and as a result many residents were relying on relief food.
2004-11-01 - Houston, United States. SALATHEIA BRYANT, Houston Chronicle
Kimba, the beloved 13-year-old Houston Zoo elephant who died Labor Day, succumbed, as suspected, of elephant herpes virus, laboratory tests confirmed. Despite valiant attempts to save her, the Asian elephant died 25 hours after exhibiting signs of a diminished appetite, swelling around the temple area and depression -- all symptoms of the disease which quickly attacks blood vessels after invading the body.
2004-10-30 - KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia. K. SUTHAKAR
An elephant drowned after it was shot with tranquilliser darts and fell into a river in Hulu Terengganu last week. State Wildlife Department rangers were trying to relocate the 15-year-old six-tonne pachyderm following reports that it was becoming a menace to villagers at Kampung Durian Bador.
2004-10-29 - Cape Town, South Africa. Tony Weaver, Cape Times
Our aim was to fit satellite collars onto six elephants in the Khaudum, one of the most remote game parks in southern Africa, a project largely sponsored by the Peace Parks Foundation, who had hired me as the photographer and writer. We were halfway through the desert when the chopper began to run out of air.
2004-10-29 - Flores, Indonesia. Anna Salleh, ABC Science Online
The newly discovered Hobbit-like humans were not intelligent enough to have made the tools found with them, or hunted elephants, says an expert in human evolution. And they behaved more like chimpanzees. Colin Groves of the Australian National University said so after studying pictures of the tools excavated with the newly discovered hominid Homo floresiensis.
2004-10-29 - LENGGONG, Malaysia. RASLAN BAHAROM
Villagers, especially those who tap rubber in and around Kampung Luat here, should be extra careful in view of the presence of a herd of wild elephants in the vicinity. Yesterday, a team of National Park and Wildlife Department rangers led by its director Jasni Abdul, cornered the 12-member herd, including four of their calves in a hilly area at the fringe of Kg Luat. One of the elephants, a bull which Jasni estimated to be about six or seven years old and weighin...
2004-10-29 - Sherpur, Bangladesh. Agencies
Angry villagers killed two wild elephants with electric traps on Monday and Tuesday as some 150 giant animals from across the Meghalaya State border of India ravaged several thousand acres of Aman crops and a number of households in the remote villages here.
2004-10-29 - Charleston, United States. NADINE PARKS
Bill Morris III didn't have to run away to join the circus. He had one right at home. Morris trains elephants, part of a family tradition that took root in the 1930s at his grandfather's farm near Springfield, Ill. Grandpa Morris sold tickets for visitors to see trained animals at his farm and later began a traveling circus show. The elephants were passed down to Morris' father, who later passed them down to Morris.
2004-10-28 - KOTA KINABALU, Indonesia. MUGUNTAN VANAR
The Sabah Wildlife Department has been ordered to give a full report on last month’s killing of an endangered Borneo Pygmy elephant to Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman.
2004-10-28 - Dhaka, Bangladesh. Independent Online
An elephant was killed in Bangladesh by an electrified fence built to protect crops as he mourned the death of a herd member electrocuted by the same barrier, an official said on Thursday.
2004-10-27 - Marongi, Guwahati, India.
Drunken wild elephants trampled to death three people and injured two in a tribal village in India's north-eastern state of Assam, wildlife officials said today.
2004-10-27 - KOTA KINABALU, Indonesia. MUGUNTAN VANAR
A Borneo Pygmy elephant was shot dead and butchered for its ivory tusks a month ago near the Tabin Wildlife Forest reserve. The endangered bull elephant, weighing 2.5 tonnes and 2.6m tall, was shot thrice in the head and had its tusks, each weighing about 14kg, removed. The hind legs were also butchered for meat sometime between Sept 25 and 26.
2004-10-27 - Flores, Indonesia. Rex Dalton, Nature
A new human-like species - a dwarfed relative who lived just 18,000 years ago in the company of pygmy elephants and giant lizards - has been discovered in Indonesia. Skeletal remains show that the hominins, nicknamed 'hobbits' by some of their discoverers, were only one metre tall, had a brain one-third the size of that of modern humans, and lived on an isolated island long after Homo sapiens had migrated through the South Pacific region.
2004-10-27 - Mysore, India. Mysore Star
A shocking revelation that the female elephant Komala, which died in Mysore Zoo on Oct. 22, was given a kilogram of baking soda, a little while before it died, was made by the Zoo employees themselves who were witness to the incident.
2004-10-27 - Mysore, India.
The serial death of animals in the Mysore Zoo, which claimed another elephant Komala on Oct. 22 that was about to leave for Armenia, has taken a curious turn with the employees blaming the veterinary doctors in the Zoo for the deaths.
2004-10-27 - LOS ANGELES, United States.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Hollywood Office applauds yesterday's decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George H. Wu to retain continuing court jurisdiction over Ruby the elephant until a new status hearing on January 5, 2005.
2004-10-26 - Dak Lak, Vietnam. Vietnam News Agency
Thirty tamed elephants and 60 mahouts will participate in the 2004 Elephant Festival scheduled in Buon Don district of central highlands Dac Lac province on Nov. 6-7. Participating elephants will come from well known areas for elephant taming like the Yok Don national park, and Ea Sup, Buon Don, Lac and Krong Bong districts.
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.
2004-10-25 - London, India. Hollywood News
Veteran Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn is reportedly on a trip to India to make a film on elephants. The Oscar-winning actress, who has already made a documentary titled "In the Wild", about saving elephants in 1966, is now being accompanied by Kurt Russell's son, Boston Russell, on the trip to India.
2004-10-25 - Chester, United Kingdom. Sam Lister, Daily Post Staff
CHESTER Zoo defended itself against criticism from an animal welfare organisation last night which says it has breached RSPCA guidelines over the birth of an elephant. The 180kg male calf, who has not yet been named, was born at the zoo two weeks ago and is the second this year.
2004-10-25 - Mysore, India. Habib Beary, BBC
Komala was a darling of one of India's oldest zoos. But the seven-year-old elephant calf died in agony after what officials at Msyore zoo in southern India are calling a conspiracy by insiders. They suspect she could be the latest victim of poisoning by disgruntled employees, and, perhaps, a persistent campaign to discredit the zoo for reasons unknown.
2004-10-24 - Johannesburg, South Africa. Fred Bridgland
Nobody wants to kill them, but 12 years without a cull in the Kruger Park has been a disaster for animals and humans, reports Fred Bridgland in Johannesburg.
2004-10-24 - Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Ravik Bhattacharya, The Statesman
Tamed pachyderms have become Bengal’s white elephants. There is a sudden glut in elephants bred in captivity in West Bengal, and the state’s cash-strapped forest department is finding it difficult to maintain them.
2004-10-23 - Cape Town, South Africa. Gavin du Venage, The Australian
THE simplest way to kill a herd of elephants is to use assault rifles in fully automatic mode, firing armour-piercing bullets. Half a dozen men carrying military-issue guns stalk a selected group and, when they are as close as five metres away, pump magazine after magazine into the animals. There was an error in the article entitled 'A "just war" no one wants' ... Read more Tweet event Royal procession for Dassera festival in Mysore 2004-10-23 - Mysore, India. India News People in Mysore today took out a colourful procession to celebrate the Hindu festival of Dassera(Dussehra). Dussehra was celebrated on Friday in most parts of the country according to the Hindu calendar. However, the royal Mysore Dussehra, unique for its procession of folk dancers and caparisoned elephants, is keenly awaited. Read more Tweet event Surin prepares fruit buffet for over 300 elephants 2004-10-23 - SURIN, Thailand. Thailand's northeastern province of Surin plans to feed more than 300 elephants at the 44th annual elephant fair next month, the provincial governor, Kasemsak Sanpoj, told TNA on Friday. The elephant performance at the fair is aimed at attracting more tourists, he said. This year's elephant fair is scheduled to run from 12-23 November. Read more Tweet misc A Saviour for Asian Elephants 2004-10-23 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Sonny Inbaraj Every creature, from a louse to a lyrebird, is a marvel of nature. But some marvels are just more marvellous than others - and none more so than an elephant. Consider this animal again and all it shares with us. Elephants live sixty to eighty years, the same span as humans. Read more Tweet trade Tanzania to sell ivory to raise funds 2004-10-22 - Arusha, Tanzania. Mail and Guardian Tanzania plans to sell 99 tonnes of confiscated elephant tusks in government stores to raise funds for conservation efforts and development projects, a senior official on said Friday. The ivory was seized from poachers or extracted from carcasses of elephants that died of natural causes, said Zakhia Meghji, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism. Read more Tweet circus Animal attraction at city circus 2004-10-22 - MANCHESTER, United States. MICHAEL COUSINEAU, Union Leader Staff Asia bent down on her left knee when hearing the word "knee" and raised the same leg when receiving the command "foot." No one, however, had to tell the 8,800-pound elephant to eat. She gobbled down an entire unsliced bread loaf from a reporter. Read more Tweet conservation Elephant Management Plan Proposed 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. Read more Tweet culling South Africa weighs killing off excess elephants 2004-10-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Gershwin Wanneburg, Reuters South Africa is weighing the option of killing off its excess elephants, 10 years after the practice known as culling was banned amid pressure from animal rights activists. Read more Tweet medical TUBERCULOSIS THREAT POSED BY CIRCUS ELEPHANTS: PETA ALERTS CANADA AG MINISTER 2004-10-20 - Ottawa, Canada. PETA With the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus scheduled to tour Ontario next month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent an urgent letter to Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Andrew Mitchell, urging him to prohibit elephants belonging to U.S. circuses from entering Canada because of concerns about tuberculosis (TB). PETA points out that a human strain of TB has been infecting and killing captive elephants in the United States since as early as 1981. Read more Tweet culling Kruger Elephants culling Debate Heats Up 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. Read more Tweet poaching King Poacher Hunted Down But Killing Raises Questions in India 2004-10-20 - NEW DELHI, India. Ranjit Devraj India's most notorious bandit and king elephant poacher, Koose Muniswamy Veerapan, might be history after he was shot dead by police on Monday. But conservationists still remain sceptical on whether the illegal ivory trade can be stemmed in the country, while a leading human rights group has called for an inquiry into his killing. Read more Tweet conservation Protecting the jumbo on elephant day 4th October 2004-10-18 - Kerala, India. K.S. Sudhi, The Hindu THE FORESTS and Wildlife Department has taken a leaf out of the song `Friends of the Elephant', for redefining and re-inventing the relationship between the mightiest animal and man. It is in the process of doing this that the Department has declared October 4 as Elephant Day for the first time and initiated steps to bring in focus the need for creating a new relation between the animal and man. Read more Tweet event Balarama leads jumbo contingent 2004-10-18 - Mysore, India. The majestic Balarama, 46, will be leading the elephant contingent in the Dasara celebrations this October. He is already in town along with five other elephants, catching the admiring attention of the passers-by while on his routine walk every day morning and evening on the traditional Vijaya Dasami procession route in Mysore. Read more Tweet conservation Elephants: Vets offer help 2004-10-18 - Johannesburg, South Africa. News 24 The Veterinary Association of SA offered its assistance in controlling elephant populations in South Africa's national parks on Monday. Unabated growth of the elephant population in the parks posed a serious threat to the habitat, wildlife and tourist potential of the country's parks, Jozeph van Heerden, spokesperson for the association, said in a statement. Read more Tweet poaching India"s most wanted bandit, elephant poacher and ivory smuggler Veerappan, killed by the police 2004-10-18 - MADRAS, Tamil Nadu, India. AP India's most wanted bandit, accused of murdering police officers, killing over 130 innocent people and 2,000 elephants and smuggling millions of dollars of illegal sandalwood and ivory, was killed Monday night in a jungle shootout with police, an officer said. Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, who had eluded police for three decades, and three other suspects were shot to death in a 20-minute gunbattle with a special police task force just before midnight, in a jungle forest, said K. Sent... Read more Tweet death Tuberculosis Kills Lincoln Park Zoo Elephant Tatima 2004-10-18 - CHICAGO, United States. Jon Duncanson, cbc2chicago.com An elephant has died inside Lincoln Park Zoo, and now the health of animal keepers is being closely watched. Tatima, an African elephant, was found dead inside her habitat on Saturday. Zoo officials believe she died of tuberculosis. It will take 12 weeks to confirm whether the elephant had tuberculosis. Read more Tweet trade Botswana"s 20 tonnes ivory trade on hold 2004-10-18 - GABORONE, Botswana. BOPA , Daily News online Botswana's sale of about 20 tonnes of ivory sanctioned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has been suspended because some countries have failed to meet one of the preconditions. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa were granted permission for a one-off sale of 60 tonnes of ivory in 2002. Read more Tweet poaching Zambia: Turning Poachers Into Cultivators 2004-10-18 - Lusaka, Zambia. UN Integrated Regional Information Networks A World Conservation Society (WCS) project in eastern Zambia's game-rich Luangwa valley is helping to transform poachers into farmers and entrepreneurs. Read more Tweet conservation Asian elephant conservationists go to Kenya 2004-10-18 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. In an unprecedented move a group of Asian elephant conservationists were taken on a tour of the conservation and research sites in Kenya. The group consisted of thirteen individuals from eight Asian countries. Read more Tweet culling Great Elephant Indaba: Elephants face cull as numbers rise 2004-10-17 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Karen MacGregor, Times Online For years conservationists have fought to protect South Africa’s elephants from poachers and hunters, but now it seems that they may have been too successful. Experts claim that there are too many elephants in the country’s parks and thousands must be killed to preserve valuable habitats for other species. Read more Tweet zoo Ling Wang on display at Taipei City Zoo 2004-10-17 - Taipei, Taiwan. A stuffed replica of the famous elephant, Ling Wang, is on display at the Taipei City Zoo. The eighty-six year old elephant is a common memory for many generations in Taiwan. After two years of construction, the life-sized specimen is now ready to greet the public today. Read more Tweet trade Can fossil ivory save elephants? 2004-10-15 - WASHINGTON, United States. Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post Hunters find the ancient tusks clustered on sandbars near the Arctic Ocean, carried there by spring-melt waters flowing from the Siberian tundra. A pair of them, dried, polished and elegantly mounted for a trophy room or home museum, can weigh 400 pounds and cost up to $75,000. Read more Tweet trade Cites okays trade in ekipas 2004-10-15 - Windhoek, Namibia. Absalom Shigwedha Althought Namibia failed to get Cites' permission for an annual export quota of 2 000kg of ivory, it got approval to allow local communities trade in ivory trinkets, known as ekipas. Read more Tweet welfare All for love Couple trumpet plight of Thailand"s domestic elephants. 2004-10-15 - San Francisco, Thailand. Karen Pierce Gonzalez, San Fransisco Chronicle After a vacation in Thailand, Santa Rosa couple work to save domestic elephants they could never forget. Blind at 38, Jokia had spent much of her life in Thailand's illegal logging operations. Forced to work long hours every day, the Asian elephant had been drugged with amphetamines to keep her productive. Today, thanks to the work of a Santa Rosa nonprofit called All for Elephants, Jokia lives near the town of Janghai in northern Thailand on land owned by elephant rescuer Lek Chailart of Thaila... Read more Tweet smuggle Online ivory, an elephant-size problem 2004-10-14 - Boston, United States. Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor Masquerading as Internet buyers, TRAFFIC investigators found that sellers of ivory on Internet "stores" regularly ship elephant ivory to the US via express-delivery services - often falsely labeling the shipment with such euphemisms as "bone carving." That exquisite little carved-ivory elephant for sale on eBay is described as a Chinese antique. Then again, it could be an illegal piece of tusk from an African elephant shot last year. That's the quandary Interne... Read more Tweet medical Vets in Thailand Pull Aching Tusk 2004-10-14 - BANGKOK, Thailand. AP If a toothache is bad, just imagine what a tusk ache must feel like. So pity the poor three-ton bull elephant Kamsaen, whose four months of agony finally came to an end when veterinarians extracted a partially cut tusk which had become infected. Read more Tweet birth Chester Zoo elephants trumpet a welcome for latest addition to family 2004-10-14 - Chester, United Kingdom. Daily Post Chester Zoo has welcomed its latest attraction - a 180kg baby elephant born just a few days ago. Read more Tweet circus Circus Mustang´s Elephants Trample Homeowner"s Yard in Sweden 2004-10-14 - Stockholm, Sweden. Mattias Karen, Associated Press A homeowner in southern Sweden filed a police complaint after four circus elephants broke loose from their trainers and ran into his back yard, trampling the hedge and the lawn, a police spokesman said Thursday. Read more Tweet culling Elephant Debate Not a Ploy to Reintroduce Culling, Says Mabunda 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. Read more Tweet event Riding the elephants on a trip back through time 2004-10-14 - CHIANG MAI, Thailand. Ed Johnson, Canadian Press Hand-feeding a hungry elephant is an unnerving experience. At the first whiff of a banana, its leathery grey trunk snakes out, probes the air and sucks it from your hand with a squelch, much like shoving fruit into a wet vacuum cleaner nozzle. Read more Tweet trade 14th CITES conference finished in Bangkok: CITES takes action to promote sustainable wildlife management and combat illegal trade 2004-10-14 - Bangkok, Thailand. CITES A two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will close here today after agreeing decisions to strengthen wildlife management, combat illegal trafficking and update the trade rules for a wide range of plant and animal species. Read more Tweet conservation China mulls Asian elephant protection corridor along its border with Laos. 2004-10-14 - BEIJING, China. Xinhuanet The Asian elephant is the largest terrestrial mammal in Asia. Although many thousands of domesticated Asian elephants are found in Southeast Asia, this magnificent animal is facing extinction in the wild. China is trying to alleviate the situation by establishing an Asian elephant protection corridor in the south of the country, along its border with Laos. Read more Tweet conservation A clarion call to conserve nature 2004-10-13 - Coimbatore, India. V.S.Palaniappan, The Hindu It was curtains down for the weeklong wildlife celebrations. The Coimbatore territorial forest division chose to celebrate the event in an unusual manner mobilising the school students to make them realise the importance of flora and fauna. Read more Tweet medical The nuts and bolts of elephant dentistry in Guruvayoor 2004-10-13 - Thrissur, India. Indo-Asian News Service He is a vet, a dentist, a mahout and a sculptor all rolled into one - and Sankaranarayanan needs every one of those skills when he carves out tusks from softwood and fits them on elephants with nuts and bolts. A mahout by profession, who has been working for the past 35 years with the famous Guruvayoor temple trust in southern India that owns 69 captive elephants, started on this particular job only eight years ago. Read more Tweet relocation Armenia"s only elephant to get an Indian companion 2004-10-13 - New Delhi, India. Sapa-DPA The only male elephant in Armenia's zoo will get an Indian female companion this week, a news report said on Wednesday. Armenian officials had asked the Indian government for a female pachyderm in 1999, for its sole male elephant originally from Moscow. Indian premier Atal Behari Vajpayee promised them an elephant during a visit to Armenia last year. Read more Tweet research Researchers Devise Potent New Tools To Curb Ivory Poaching 2004-10-13 - Washington, United States. Despite a long-standing international ban on ivory trade, African elephants continue to be killed in large numbers for their prized tusks. But a team headed by a University of Washington biologist has devised a new means of determining the geographic origin of ivory that could prove a potent tool in slowing elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade by identifying hot spots where enforcement should be increased. Read more Tweet conservation Thais Face Jumbo Dilemma in Conserving Elephants 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Sasithorn Simaporn, Reuters Elephants kicking soccer balls, painting flowers with their trunks, or twirling a hula-hoop are a common sight in Thailand, where the sacred warrior beasts perform in tourist shows or peddle fruits on the streets of Bangkok. Read more Tweet trade Whales, Elephants Saved From Commercial Killers 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Ranjit Devraj The world's 'flagship species' on land and sea, whales and elephants, won a reprieve on Tuesday from commercial exploitation at a major conservation conference in Thailand's capital. Read more Tweet trade Southafrica Votes to Lift 20 year Global Ivory Ban 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Business Day Southafrica, along with the rest of the southern African countries at a global wildlife conference in Thailand, voted against Kenya's proposal to place a 20 year moratorium on ivory trading yesterday. Read more Tweet welfare Mysore Dasara Celebration of pain? 2004-10-12 - Mysore, India. Deccan Herald You might enjoy dasara but not these elephants, says RAGHUPATHY K P When dasara begins, it is the elephants that attract the crowd. People who come to witness the ‘Jambu Sawari’ are enthralled by the decorated elephants. And the legendary Balarama, a majestic animal which carries the golden howdah gets special attention. Read more Tweet abstract Assigning African elephant DNA to geographic region of origin: Applications to the ivory trade 2004-10-12 - Washington, United States. Samuel K. Wasser, Andrew M. Shedlock, Kenine Comstock, Elaine A. Ostrander, Benezeth Mutayoba,and Matthew Stephens. The National Academy of Sciences Resurgence of illicit trade in African elephant ivory is placing the elephant at renewed risk. Regulation of this trade could be vastly improved by the ability to verify the geographic origin of tusks. We address this need by developing a combined genetic and statistical method to determine the origin of poached ivory. Our statistical approach exploits a smoothing method to estimate geographic-specific allele frequencies over the entire African elephants' range for 16 microsatellite loci, using ... Read more Tweet trade CITES RESOLUTE-NO IVORY TRADE 2004-10-11 - Bangkok, Thailand. Species Survival Network The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted in a late night session to deny Namibia an annual quota of 2,000kg of raw ivory and an unlimited quantity of worked ivory jewelry, known as “ekipas.” The decision could have serious, long-term, and positive implications for elephant conservation across Africa. Read more Tweet trade China Seen as Biggest Driver of Ivory Market 2004-10-11 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters Booming demand in China is the biggest driver of the illegal ivory market and there is no clear link between allowing regulated legal trade and a rise in black market supplies, a report to a U.N. conference said on Monday. Read more Tweet accident Elephant kills mahout 2004-10-10 - PATHANAMTHITTA, India. A 17-year-old mahout, Krishnakumar alias Sreekumar of Elavumthitta near Aranmula, was crushed to death by a domesticated elephant at Elavumthitta this forenoon. According to eyewitnesses, the pachyderm attacked the mahout without any provocation and his brain was smashed when he was fatally crushed against a wayside wall. Read more Tweet event Elephant encounter in Chiangmai 2004-10-09 - Chiang mai, Thailand. Pamela Phang Kooi Yoong THE first stroke went from the left to the middle, then straight down. The second stroke came from the right, and went down the middle of the paper as well. They were confident, sure strokes that eventually yielded something that looked like a tree. Then came the yellow patches, followed by red ones at the end of each branch. A painting of a tree with buttercup-like flowers soon emerged. It was simple, beautiful . . . and amazing. The artist: an elephant. Read more Tweet conflict Trained elephants go on the rampage in northeast India 2004-10-08 - DOOMDOOMA, India. Khaleej Times (Reuters) The phone rang, as Dinesh Choudhury was finishing dinner. A rogue elephant was on the loose in the jungles of northeastern India, and four people were already dead. Choudhury’s first move was to try to convince the tranquilliser team to make another attempt, but they had seen enough of Golap’s anger not to want to approach him again. “I found him after just 10 minutes and fired over his head,” he said later. “People were agitated, but I just pretended it was a miss.” O... Read more Tweet trade Plan for African Ivory Markets A Victory for Elephants, Says World Wildlife Fund 2004-10-08 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Jan Vertefeuille, Sarah Janicke - WWF World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC applaud African countries who today announced a continent-wide action plan to crack down on their domestic ivory markets, calling it a major victory for elephant conservation. Read more Tweet conservation Khao Yai gets SE Asia"s first wildlife protection training centre 2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News Khao Yai National Park is to become home to the first training centre for wildlife protection officials in Southeast Asia, the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment announced, Suwit Khunkitti, today. Read more Tweet trade Kenya says ivory sales endanger poacher hunters 2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters Kenya is on the front line of the "wildlife wars" and says its men in the trenches will be at risk if a U.N. conference approves a Namibian bid to sell more ivory. Read more Tweet circus Elephants won"t join circus at Coral Springs shows 2004-10-07 - CORAL SPRINGS, United States. Sallie James, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Despite protests from animal rights activists, the circus will come to town next month for four days. Just don't expect to see any elephants. The DeLand-based Cole Bros. Circus, which this year dropped the name "Clyde Beatty" from its title, will perform Nov. 11-14 at the Sportsplex near the Sawgrass Expressway. Circus officials pulled the elephants because of complaints, said circus spokesman Bruce Pratt. Read more Tweet trade A poachers" charter: Allowing "sustainable trade" in endangered species would make a few dealers rich, while wiping out Africa"s wildlife. 2004-10-07 - Nairobi, Kenya. Richard Leakey, The Guardian Fifteen years ago, the world's television screens relayed images of Daniel arap Moi, Kenya's then president, and myself setting fire to 2,000 elephant tusks. Kenya could have earned millions of pounds by selling the stockpile. But I believed we had to illustrate graphically the impact of the ivory trade, and show that the only way of saving Africa's elephants was to destroy the trade. Throughout the 1980s, ivory trading - most of it fed by ... Read more Tweet trade Uganda Opposes Trade in Ivory but believes in the concept of sustainable utilisation 2004-10-07 - Kampala, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa, New Vision A TEAM of wildlife officials has left for a global meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to oppose the lifting of the ban imposed on ivory trade. "Uganda believes in the concept of sustainable utilisation. We recognise that Uganda's elephant population growth in the last 20 years is partly due to the ban on ivory. Uganda therefore, proposes that this ban should be upheld until such a time that mechanisms for regulating ivory trade and elephant produc... Read more Tweet conflict Indian Elephants Fight Losing Battle with Man 2004-10-07 - GUWAHATI, India. Simon Denyer, Reuters It is an unexpected headache for the Indian army, an unlikely embarrassment for the government and an unwelcome challenge for the railways department. Elephants in India are on the rampage, coming into conflict with man ever more frequently and ever more dangerously. It is a battle the normally gentle animals seem destined to lose. Read more Tweet zoo Alaska Zoo to Build Elephant Treadmill 2004-10-07 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States. Mary Pemberton, Associated Press Writer Alaska zoo is to build what it believes to be the world's first elephant treadmill as part of plans to enrich its only elephant's life with better accommodation and activities. Read more Tweet event Mysore City Palace under Siege! 2004-10-06 - Mysore, India. Star of Mysore The Palace acquisition proceedings have resurfaced curiously amidst the brisk preparations for the Dasara festivities which may trigger many more controversies during this Dasara. Read more Tweet medical Living with jumbo handicaps -Sama at the Pinnawela orphanage 2004-10-06 - KEGALLA, Sri Lanka. R.K. Radhakrishnan It was eight years ago that Sama was brought to the Pinnewala elephant orphanage here. The cow-elephant had lost a leg when it stepped on a landmine in the northern jungles. It was about five then. Today, the orphanage veterinarian, Chandana Rajapaksa, is worried. Read more Tweet trade Ivory from extinct mammoths in big demand 2004-10-06 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters Ivory from the tusks of extinct mammoths is being used as a legal substitute for the stuff provided by its living elephant kin, but poor quality and a finite supply means it will never replace it, experts say. Read more Tweet trade Ivory ban spells doom for Namibian tribe"s tradition 2004-10-06 - WINDHOEK, Namibia. AFP Women from Namibia's Ukwanyama tribe proudly display the shiny pieces of carved ivory which dangle from their red leather belts, many of them decades old and handed down from mother to daughter. The carved pieces, called "ekipa", are important tokens in the traditional life of this tribe, which straddles northern Namibia and southern Angola. Read more Tweet event Elephants Day at Topslip Wildlife Sanctuary 2004-10-06 - Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India. NO MORNING line-up or rides for tourists into the jungles on their backs! It was Elephants Day, part of Wildlife Week celebrations, at the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Topslip near Pollachi this Sunday, and the pachyderms were having a real holiday. The Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, T. Sekar, said that the elephants were brought to Topslip from their camps in Kozhikamudhi and Varagliyar tribal settlements. Read more Tweet abstract Fibrosarcoma with lung and lymph node metastases in an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). 2004-10-06 - Taipei, Taiwan. Liu CH, Chang CH, Chin SC, Chang PH, Zhuo YX, Lee CC.. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University A case of fibrosarcoma with lung and lymph node metastases in a 54-year-old female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is described. After pododermatitis of 2 years duration in the right forefoot, a mass developed in the lateral toenail. At postmortem, metastasis to the right axillary lymph node and both lungs was noted. Microscopic examination of primary and metastatic sites revealed infiltrating bundles of spindle cells, with fairly distinct cell borders, variable amounts of eosinophilic cytoplas... Read more Tweet event Whacky polo tees off jumbo fun 2004-10-05 - Hua Hin, Thailand. AP With the crack of clashing mallets and the thump of jumbo feet shaking the earth, the game is under way. Tense commands are shouted by pith-helmeted players tied firmly to their two-ton mounts. Soon there is a muddle in the middle. The beasts collide and the ball disappears in a forest of elephantine legs, raising some dust and much laughter. It’s a classic scrum in the whacky sport of elephant polo. Read more Tweet conflict "To avoid confrontation, don"t worship elephants": 2004-10-05 - Ranchi, India. Indo-Asian News Service Don't store liquor. Don't go out into the forests drunk. Don't worship elephants. And move only in groups at night. These are among a list of do's and don'ts brought out by the forest department of Jharkhand in a bid to check the growing cases of man-elephant conflict that have resulted in the deaths of over 300 villagers here in the last four years. Read more Tweet trade EU opposes whaling, undecided on ivory at CITES 2004-10-05 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters The European Union looked set on Tuesday to harpoon a Japanese bid to resume commercial trade in whale products, but has yet to take a stand on a Namibian attempt to loosen restrictions on ivory sales. Read more Tweet conflict Avoiding man-animal conflict has become wild-goose chase 2004-10-04 - BHUBANESWAR, India. Between man and animal, it is a conflict that is getting grimmer by the day. The more the human beings invade their habitations, the stronger becomes their resistance. And, same goes the retaliation from the man's side. As the State celebrates Wildlife Week, it is down to the basics for survival for both man and animal. Consider this. From 1998-99 to 2003-04, elephants killed more men than the other way round. In these six years, the pachyderms killed 228 human beings. Read more Tweet trade 13th CITES meeting kicks off 2004-10-02 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News The 13th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES kicked off in Bangkok today. It is the first time that a CITES meetng is held in the Southeast Asian region. Read more Tweet facility Elephant Conservation and Breeding Centre:More space for Pinnawela elephants 2004-10-02 - Pinnawela, Sri Lanka. Florence Wickramage The Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela will be upgraded as the Elephant Conservation and Breeding Centre and the entire complex including the large extent of land will be redesigned to afford more protection and movement facilities for elephants. Read more Tweet trade NGOs accuse Thai politicians of involvement in wildlife trade 2004-10-01 - Bangkok, Thailand. Conservationists yesterday took a stab at the Thai government, accusing senior national politicians of involvement in the illegal trade in endangered species, while calling for a ban on Thai elephant exports. Read more Tweet smuggle Thailand"s legal ivory trade a smokescreen for smuggled African tusks 2004-10-01 - BANGKOK, Thailand. AFP In the heart of Bangkok's bustling Chinatown, shops filled with tourist trinkets and antiques hide an illegal multi-million dollar ivory trade that environmentalists warn is destroying global elephant populations. Inside a cluttered tourist gift shop, an AFP reporter posing as a buyer asked to see banned African ivory and after a heated debate between the shop's two owners was shown smuggled tusks apparently hacked from the head of a slaughtered elephant. Read more Tweet relocation Cologne welcomes Singapore Zoo"s most famous elephant 2004-09-30 - Singapore, Singapore. The Singapore Zoo's most famous elephant headed to Germany to be part of a conservation programme at the Cologne Zoo, its former keepers said. Read more Tweet zoo Elephants Leading Long Lives In Professionally Managed Zoos 2004-09-29 - Washington, United States. New research shows that elephants in professionally managed zoological facilities have life expectancies similar to elephants in the wild. The finding, published in the August edition of the journal Zoo Biology (Volume 23, Issue 4), refutes a 2002 study that claimed wild elephants typically live longer. The new research used a different testing methodology, which its authors say corrects these earlier findings. Read more Tweet research New scientific methods to identify elephant DNA in ivory 2004-09-28 - Washington, United States. Washington - Using elephant dung and skin samples, researchers say they are able to make a map of elephant DNA that can help track down ivory poachers. Read more Tweet relocation Ilona from Hannover to Heidelberg Zoo 28 september 2004-09-28 - Heidelberg, Germany. Dan Koehl Because of Califa und Farina, the last elephant baby births in Hannover Zoo, peace was over, and the kindergarten became a little bit too much for Ilona. At the 29 of September 2004 she was transfered to Zoo Heidelberg, in a seventeen meter long vehicle, during eight hours journey at the german autobahn. Read more Tweet research Using DNA to stop elephant poachers. UW researcher can trace ivory to its original region 2004-09-28 - SEATTLE, United States. CAROL SMITH It's like doing cold-case detective work on elephants, but University of Washington scientist Samuel Wasser has devised an innovative method for pinpointing the DNA fingerprints of poached elephant tusks. The method, reported yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could give conservationists their most powerful tool yet in the battle to hunt down the poachers who are decimating the African elephant population. Read more Tweet event Surin rally to raise funds for elephants 2004-09-27 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News The north-eastern province of Surin, famed for its annual elephant round-ups, is to conduct its second elephant rally this year to help raise funds for Thai elephants. Read more Tweet zoo Elephants find love at the zoo 2004-09-25 - Pittsburgh, United States. Michelle K. Massie, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Jack is back and he's looking for love. Jack, whose full name is Jackson, is a 10,400-pound African male elephant and the only naturally breeding bull in the United States. Due to his acclaim, Jack has made his rounds around the country, most recently at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, mating with willing adult female elephants. Since May, he's been back at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Read more Tweet medical Botswana anthrax "subsiding" 2004-09-24 - Gaborone, Botswana. The outbreak of anthrax in Botswana's Chobe National Park had claimed the lives of 265 animals, but was now subsiding, an assistant director in the Department of Wildlife said on Friday. Of the 265 animals found dead in Chobe, 248 were buffalo, and 12 were elephants. The carcasses had been disposed of. Read more Tweet accident Jen saves child from elephant 2004-09-23 - Thailand, Thailand. Jennifer Ellison saved a young girl from being crushed by an elephant in Thailand. She dashed to pick up four-year-old Stacey Young after she fell during an elephant ride, reports the Daily Star. Read more Tweet conflict Farmers at Kakum assisted to protect farms against elephants 2004-09-23 - Brahabebome, Ghana. A 234,000 dollar- project, initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), last year, to protect farms in communities around the Kakum National Park from marauding elephants, has yielded positive results. For the first time in over 20 years, farmers at Aboabo camp, Nyamebekyere, Adubiase, Siriboekro, Brahabebome, Kasum and Alicekrom, have been able to harvest their food crops without any hindrance from the elephants. Read more Tweet conflict Plan to catch rogue elephants cleared 2004-09-21 - Hassan, Karnataka, India. The Divisional Conservator of Forests, Hassan Division, S. Shekar, has said that the Government has given the green signal to catch and trans-locate two rogue elephants that are creating havoc in Alur, Sakleshpur and part of Arkalgud taluks. Read more Tweet medical Mysore zoo elephants poisoned, says report 2004-09-20 - Mysore, India. The susipicion of a foul play in the deaths of zoo elephants Ganesha and Roopa has proved right. The laboratory reports have confirmed that the elephants were killed using a strong chemical poison (zinc phosphide). The two elephants, which died on September 4 and September 7 respectively, had acute haemorrhagic enteritis and respiratory distress because of the poison. Zinc phosphide is normally used to kill rodents and it is a cheap poison available in the market. Read more Tweet death Two elephants electrocuted in Jharkhand, India 2004-09-19 - Ranchi, India. Indo-Asian News Service Two elephants died when they came in contact with a high-voltage power line near this Jharkhand capital, following which a herd of elephants ran amok and damaged several houses and other properties. While roaming in the Torpa area, 40 km from Ranchi, an elephant died when its trunk touched an 11,000-volt electrical line. Another elephant came to its rescue and met the same fate. Read more Tweet trade Row over Zimbabwe"s elephant numbers 2004-09-15 - Harare, Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe's cronies have apparently inflated Zimbabwe's elephant population to dupe the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (Cites) into allowing Harare to continue trading in ivory. Read more Tweet relocation One more elephant with Frankello 2004-09-12 - Platschow, Germany. The elephant trainer Sonny Frankello has bought yet one more elephant. A few months ago he received the female elephant Sandra and now he has bought a male elephant – Moritz. The elephant comes from the German Scholl family. Sonny has now 6 African elephants. 2 males Sahib and Moriz and four females Mala, Sandra, Kenia and Timba. Only 3 of the elephants have been on tour this year. Read more Tweet facility New elephant park opening in Cologne Zoo, Germany 2004-09-09 - Cologne, Germany. Barbara Brem On September 9th, the “Elephant Park” was officially opened in Cologne. Three bulls and two cows from Holland and England, as well as a six-year old bull from Singapore now live on 5,000 square meters interior enclosure and in a 15,000 square meters outdoor park. The 20,000 square meter facility takes up approximately ten percent of the overall zoo property. Read more Tweet death Sudden illness kills zoo elephant. Kimba, 13, was born in Houston"s exhibit in 1991 2004-09-07 - Houston, United States. Danny Perez, Houston Chronicle The Houston Zoo staff members tried feverishly to save Kimba's life, but the 13-year-old female Asian elephant died Monday afternoon after a sudden illness. Read more Tweet death Mysore Zoos Elephant Ganeshas death shocks animal lovers 2004-09-05 - Mysore, India. The death of an elephant in the Mysore zoo on Saturday has shocked animal lovers and the zoo authorities here. Ganesha, who was 30 years old, was reported to be dull since Friday. The Executive Director of Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Manoj Kumar, said the elephant was suffering from severe abdominal pain and responded to treatment initially. However, it died at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Read more Tweet conflict Yala National Park in Sri Lanka closed as thirsty elephants see red 2004-09-02 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters Sri Lanka has closed its biggest wildlife reserve because a severe drought has dried up watering holes and left wild elephants thirsty, angry and ready to charge, park officials say. Read more Tweet medical Michigan Elephant Gets Therapy for Arthritis 2004-08-24 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States. TAREK EL-TABLAWY Like any patient, Wanda needs positive reinforcement to wrestle through her physical therapy. At 46, time and a few extra pounds have taken their toll on this Royal Oak resident's bones, and her eyes roam to the treats the needed incentive to overcome the pain during her workout. "Leg up," says Mary Wulff, who guides Wanda through the routines. "Good girl!" Read more Tweet birth Shanti Gives Birth At Houston Zoo 2004-08-18 - Houston, United States. Asian Elephant Births 338-Pound Baby GirlAfter 22 months of pregnancy, Shanti, a 13-year-old Asian elephant at the Houston Zoo gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday evening, August 17, 2004, at the Houston Zoo to a healthy female calf with the name Bella! Read more Tweet zoo Maggie the lonely elephant to stay in Alaska 2004-08-17 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States. America's and the world´s northernmost elephant is staying put, to the relief of many visitors at the Alaska Zoo and the consternation of some animal advocates who say the African-born pachyderm needs a warmer climate, more space and the company of her own kind. Read more Tweet welfare Shots killing elephant echo across a decade Activists favor outlawing elephant act 2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. By Rosemarie Bernardo, Starbulletin Makakilo resident Donna Wier remembers that horrible day 10 years ago when a man was trampled to death by an 8,000-pound elephant at the Blaisdell Arena. "It was pretty traumatic," said Wier, who took her sons Dillon, then 6, and Koa, 10 months, to the circus for the first time. "It's still in the back of our minds." Read more Tweet death Shots killing elephant Tyke echo across a decade 2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. Rosemarie Bernardo A circus that includes elephant performances has not come to Hawaii since Tyke's rampage. However, there was an attempt last year by the Ringling Bros Circus. The organization filed for a permit to bring two Asian elephants for a February circus performance. There were no other requests to bring in elephants for circus acts, said Cravalho. An elephant, however, was brought to Honolulu for the filming of the Disney movie "George of the Jungle" in 1997 under strict safeguards. Read more Tweet medical Elephant Tina"s heart failed 2004-08-10 - VANCOUVER, United States. Tests show the Tina, the elephant who was moved from B.C. to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee last summer, died of heart failure. Read more Tweet zoo Columbus Zoo: Baby Elephant Named to Bodhi! 2004-08-07 - POWELL, Ohio, United States. The winning name in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Name the Baby Elephant Contest is Bodhi, entered by Alison Dutro of Dublin, Ohio. The announcement of the winning name was made today at 1 p.m. Read more Tweet medical German Specialists Make Ultrasound Examination of Pregnant Elephant at Jerusalem"s Biblical Zoo 2004-08-02 - Jerusalem, Israel. GCM/CRB A German team from the IZW, The Institute of Zoo Wildlife Research in Berlin, make an ultrasound examination of Tamar, a pregnant elephant, at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo July 31, 2004. Read more Tweet conservation White elephant spotted in Sri Lanka - Albino pachyderm may boost conservation efforts 2004-07-30 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Helen Pilcher A rare albino elephant has been spotted roaming Sri Lanka's Ruhunu National Park, the first recorded sighting in the country. The pale-skinned pachyderm, thought to be around 11 years old, lives with a 17-strong herd of adult females and youngsters. Tracking the herd's movements could help researchers devise new strategies for the protection and management of Sri Lanka's elephants. Read more Tweet conflict Rogue elephants shot by rangers 2004-07-26 - Durban, South Africa. Chris Jenkins, Daily News Game rangers have shot three rogue elephants in Zululand's Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. The culling was in terms of a head office directive to control "delinquent" elephants to avoid possible fatal attacks on staff, neighbours or visitors. Read more Tweet wild MAPUTO ELEPHANT RESERVE RE-COUNT 21st July-26th July 2004 2004-07-26 - Maputo, Mozambique. Joe Holmes, University of Pretoria The initial count was done in October 2002 for CERU, the Conservation Ecology Research Unit of the University of Pretoria. We received a request from Dr Tim Jackson in the early part of this year to do a follow up count to enable comparisons to be drawn. Read more Tweet death Tina the elephant dies 2004-07-23 - VANCOUVER, United States. Tina, the Asian elephant with the ailing feet, who moved from B.C. to Tenneessee has died. The 34-year-old pachyderm was transferred last August to the Elephant Sanctuary at Hohenwald, southwest of Nashville. Read more Tweet birth 69-year-old elephant gives birth to male calf 2004-07-21 - SHIMOGA, India. It was a day of celebration at the elephant camp at Sakrebylu, about 15 km from here, on Wednesday as an elephant calf was born within 15 days of another calf being born. Kaveri, a 69-year-old elephant, gave birth to a male calf this morning. It was the second delivery of Kaveri, the first one being in 1969. Read more Tweet relocation African elephant Ruby moved to Knoxville Zoo last year will return to Los Angeles 2004-07-20 - Los Angeles, United States. Lora LaMarca, Los Angeles Zoo Working with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s (AZA) Species Survival Plan managers for elephants, the Los Angeles Zoo had been seeking a better and more social situation for Ruby, a 43-year-old African elephant. The decision was made to move Ruby from the Los Angeles Zoo to the Knoxville (Tennessee) Zoo in May 2003. Read more Tweet birth 230-Pound Baby Elephant Born At Disney"s Animal Kingdom 2004-07-07 - Lake Buena Vista, United States. An 18-year-old African elephant gave birth to a 230-pound baby at Disney's Animal Kingdom, according to Local 6 News. The elephant calf arrived Tuesday night to join its 18-year-old mother, Vasha, after 22 months in the womb, according to an official. The elephant's name is Kianga, which means "Sunshine" in Swahili. Read more Tweet accident Elephant tramples South Korean tourist in Cambodia 2004-07-03 - Ratanakiri, Cambodia. An enraged elephant in remote northeastern Cambodia has trampled a South Korean tourist who tried to take its photograph. The Cambodia Daily reports 29-year-old Chong Huisit, suffered broken ribs and other injuries when the beast turned on him, just before it was supposed to take him for a ride in jungle-clad Ratanakiri province. The victim was airlifted to Phnom Penh for treatment. Read more Tweet relocation Gorongosa National Park receives 500 elephants from Botswana 2004-06-28 - Maputo, Mozambique. Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique The Gorongosa National Park, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, is to receive 500 elephants from Botswana, during the second half of this year, as part of its restocking programme, reports Monday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". Read more Tweet death Elephant calf dies at Vandalur zoo 2004-06-25 - CHENNAI, India. P. Oppili A three-and-half-month-old elephant calf died at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, on Wednesday. The calf, Ramu, was rescued last month from the forest area in Amirthi near Vellore after his mother died. Read more Tweet death Three Elephants killed by train in Guwahati 2004-06-23 - Guwahati, India. A goods carriage train hit a herd of elephants when they were crossing the railway line which passes through a dense forest area of Ajara on the outskirts of Guwahati, in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, resulting in the death of three elephants on Monday June 21, forest officials said. Read more Tweet zoo Baby elephant finds new home 2004-06-20 - MALACCA, Malaysia. Lee Yuk Peng, The Star A six-month-old baby elephant, which was separated from its mother in the Johor forest, will be bred in captivity in the Malacca Zoo.The male calf, named Rio, which still needs milk from its mother until it turns two, will now have to grow up on low-fat cow’s milk mixed with bread. Read more Tweet zoo GLOBAL ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD FOR ANIMALS: ISIS AND CGI TO BUILD A ONE OF A KIND GLOBAL SPECIMEN AND COLLECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM 2004-06-08 - Toronto, Canada. The International Species Information System (ISIS), a global organization that serves the institutional, regional and global animal management and conservation goals of more than 600 zoos and aquariums from 70 countries around the world, has selected CGI Group Inc. (CGI) (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB) to design, build and maintain a next generation data management system. This seven-year, multi-million dollar information technology (IT) contract will facilitate the real-time collection and tracking of... Read more Tweet accident Elephant trainer gored by elephant at Six Flags Marine World 2004-06-01 - Vallejo, United States. An elephant trainer at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo was in critical condition Tuesday after he was gored by one of the pachyderms, a fire department spokesman said. Patrick Chapple, 39, was standing next to 7,000-pound Misha, a 23-year-old female African elephant, at about 3:30 p.m. when the animal turned suddenly from grazing and knocked him to the ground. Read more Tweet conflict Elephants create havoc in Jharkhand villages 2004-05-30 - Ernakulam, Kerala, India. New Kerala Villagers in Jharkhand are a harried lot as they come under constant attacks by heards of wild elephants. According to official estimates nearly 29 people have been killed and many injured in the last two years in Ranchi district by wild elephants. Read more Tweet welfare PETA continues campaign to get Lee Richardson Zoo"s elephants in Kansas transferred to More Spacious Area 2004-05-29 - Garden City, United States. An animal rights group is continuing its campaign to persuade the Lee Richardson Zoo to send its two elephants to a more spacious sanctuary, despite the zoo's plans to expand the elephants' living quarters. Read more Tweet conflict Kidnapped elephant to undergo discipline training 2004-05-29 - Kushalnagar, India. A celebrity elephant is to undergo training in India after plantation owners kidnapped it for trampling over their crops. Harsha went on the rampage while leading a royal procession in Kushalnagar. Read more Tweet zoo Day in the life of an elephant keeper 2004-04-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom. I arrive at elephant house with the other elephant keepers at around 7.30am, and we are usually greeted by the female elephants who flap their ears at us. The first job of the day is to sweep the barn out before preparing a hearty breakfast for all the elephants. Breakfast usually consists of nutritional pellets with vitamins and bananas - breakfast is just as important for elephants as it is for people! Read more Tweet medical Breathalyser detects tuberculosis 2004-04-10 - London, United Kingdom. BBC Coughing into a breathalyser could be the new way to detect the most common form of tuberculosis. The portable device, developed by Rapid Biosensor Systems, would be quicker and easier to use than the current screening method, called the Heaf test. Read more Tweet birth Whipsnade Wild Animal Park celebrates its first Asian elephant birth 2004-03-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom. Whipsnade Wild Animal Park's new born Asian elephant calf will be making her first public appearance today, Tuesday 30th March. The female calf, born on Tuesday 16th March to 22 year old mother, Kaylee, weighed in at a whopping 149kg on arrival and will be an important addition to the breeding programme for this endangered species. Read more Tweet relocation Kenya plans massive relocation of elephants 2004-03-27 - Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya plans to move 400 elephants away from a reserve where jumbos are breaking down fences and trampling crops in its biggest animal relocation exercise, wildlife officials said on Friday. Read more Tweet accident An elephant"s casual shrug almost killed zookeeper Katie Hrynewich. 2004-03-25 - Calgary, Canada. BILL KAUFMANN As a group of Grade 3 students looked on, the pachyderm handler at the Calgary Zoo took a header from pregnant, 3,000 kg Asian elephant Maharani. "A flash went in front of my eyes and when I recovered my vision, I was lying at her feet -- I gave her two opportunities to finish me off," says Hrynewich, 41, of the March 25, 2004, incident. Moments before, Hrynewich had been rewarding Maharani with herbal cookies for a successful bath. "I had a really, really good rapport with that elephant and eve... Read more Tweet death Dynamite in fodder kills elephant calf 2004-03-24 - MYSORE, India. The Hindu A dynamite concealed in fodder exploded in the mouth of an elephant calf, ripping its face apart and leaving the hapless creature writhing in agony until it died on Wednesday. Read more Tweet death Hogle"s Kali the Elephant Euthanized 2004-03-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. (KSL News) Another animal has been euthanized at Hogle Zoo. The Zoo's grand dame, Kali the elephant was put down this morning. This morning zookeepers found Kali alert, but lying on the floor of her exhibit. She was unable to get up, due to her severe joint arthritis. Kali was 59, the third oldest living Asian elephant in the country. Read more Tweet circus Hawthorn circus Elephants to leave McHenry County farm 2004-03-08 - Richmond, Illinois, United States. Jeff Long, Tribune staff reporter The owner of a circus-training facility in rural McHenry County has agreed to find new homes for his elephants under an agreement with federal authorities, officials announced today. The proposed agreement between John Cuneo, owner of Hawthorn Corp., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture would end the government's case against Cuneo and his company for dozens of alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act concerning the elephants' care. Read more Tweet death San Francisco Zoo euthanizes Calle after final controversy. Activists blamed for causing another elephant to push her down 2004-03-08 - San Francisco, United States. Demian Bulwa Calle the ailing elephant died at the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday morning, hours after another elephant attacked her, an attack that zoo officials are blaming on animal rights demonstrators who they say agitated the beasts. Zoo veterinarians quietly euthanized Calle, a 37-year-old female Asian elephant, at about 5 a.m., after she dropped to her belly and rolled on her side. Read more Tweet death San Francisco Zoo losing a beloved pachyderm. Keepers plan to euthanize sick, injured Calle the Elephant 2004-03-05 - San Francisco, United States. Patricia Yollin The troubled life of Calle the Elephant, one of the San Francisco Zoos most beloved residents, will soon come to an end. The zoo has decided to euthanize the 37-year-old, 10,000-pound creature because her health has been declining since October. After Calle is euthanized, Tinkerbelle may be sent to another zoo. Read more Tweet welfare Therapy for stressed Indian elephants 2004-02-04 - Delhi, India. Adam Mynott BBC South Asia correspondent India's captive elephants are stressed, unhappy and need therapy, according to the Wildlife Trust of India. They have called in an expert - a sort of "elephant-whisperer" - from the United States to help them. Read more Tweet event Football festival aids elephants 2004-01-31 - Kaziranga, India. Almost 100 elephants have taken part in a football game in India as part of an annual festival aimed at encouraging locals to protect the animals Read more Tweet event Zoo plays host to Parade elephants 2004-01-23 - New Delhi, India. Prakriti Prasad The Delhi Zoo is extending its hospitality to the elephants that carry bravery award winners in the Republic Day parade. Visitors to the zoo are greeted by these elephants, brought from all over Delhi and domesticated by their private owners, right at the entrance, where they are putting up in the scooter parking lot. Every morning, they are taken to Rajpath for their training. Read more Tweet birth Keepers preparing for birth of African elephant 2004-01-23 - ESCONDIDO, United States. ANDREA MOSS The countdown has begun, even if nobody knows when it will end. Anticipation is mounting behind the scenes at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where keepers are closely monitoring a pregnant African elephant that is expected to give birth in the next month or two. Ultrasounds and hormone tests suggest the mother is about 21 months into a pregnancy that, if it follows the average, will last 22 months. Read more Tweet death Drunken elephants die in accident 2004-01-23 - Calcutta, India. Subir Bhaumik Four wild elephants drunk on rice beer have been electrocuted in the north-east Indian state of Meghalaya, wildlife officials report. The elephants are known to have a taste for rice beer brewed by tribal communities across north-east India. But this is the first time some of them have died after consuming the drink. A herd of about 20 to 25 elephants went on the rampage in a remote area in the West Garo Hills district earlier this week after getting high on the beer. Read more Tweet medical Patent for elephant denture 2004-01-18 - Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Pornprapa Rattanadang, The Nation The inventor of a denture fitted to an 80-year-old elephant, allowing it to eat normally, has applied for a patent for the device. "It has been a great success," said Somsak Jitniyom of the Mount Chayarat Centre for Research and Technology Transfer. Read more Tweet smuggle Four Arrested in Tanzania Over Ivory Haul 2004-01-14 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Reuters Four men were arrested in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam after they were found with 73 elephant tusks, police said Wednesday. Read more Tweet fossil Remains of 500-year-old elephant excavated in Orissa, India 2004-01-11 - Bhubaneswar, India. Jatindra Dash, Newkerala.com A team of archaeologists has uncovered the remains of an elephant believed to be 500 years old from a fort in Orissa. The team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found the remains at the Barabati fort at Cuttack town, 26 km from here. The skeleton was found two metres below the surface during the excavation of the fort's 102 acres of land, said P.K. Dwibedi, in charge of the ASI's office here. Read more Tweet relocation Elephants to Be Moved 2004-01-08 - Shimba Hills, Kenya. Daniel Nyassy, The East African Standard Four hundred elephants in Shimba Hills Game Park, Kwale, are to get a new home starting next month. They will be moved to the Tsavo National Park, as ordered by President Kibaki in his tour of the Coast Province. Read more Tweet medical Toothless elephant gets set of dentures 2004-01-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok Post A toothless old elephant who was slowly starving to death has been fitted with a set of specially made dentures in what could be the first in the world. The U-shaped denture, 15cm wide and 15cm long, is made of stainless steel, silicone and plastic. It was developed especially for Morakot, an 80-year-old cow elephant at the Chang Phuan Kaeo elephant ground in Kanchanaburi province. Read more Tweet accident Elephant ride ends in horror 2004-01-04 - Livingstone, Zambia. Gudrun Heckl A South African couple's elephant-riding adventure turned into a life-threatening drama on the day of their 30th wedding anniversary. Schoolteacher Sue Pearson is recovering from serious chest injuries in a Johannesburg hospital after a dramatic rescue effort spanning three countries, dogged by power failures at a clinic and an airport. Pearson and her husband John, a Johannesburg businessman, were swept off a 24-year-old elephant which ran into a tree on the banks ... Read more Tweet death Newborn Elephant Dies At Houston Zoo 2004-01-01 - Houston, United States. The Houston Zoo is mourning the loss of it's newest addition. A new born Asian elephant died at the zoo Monday. The female calf died about 30 hours after her mother, Methai, gave birth. Zookeepers said the calf appeared to be very healthy right after labor but suspected something was wrong a few hours later. The zoo said the calf's mother is in good health and is now in an area visible to visitors. Read more Tweet 217 Headlines about Elephants from 20042004-12-29 - Harare, Zimbabwe - Elephants in Zimbabwe worry officials 2004-12-27 - Jashpur (Chattisgarh), India - Wild elephants create havoc in Chhatisgarh villages 2004-12-25 - SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Law halts exhibits of captive elephants. San Francisco takes action as animal rights activists question if zoos can provide adequate sanctuary 2004-12-24 - Auckland, New Zealand - Auckland Zoo elephants’ Christmas wish 2004-12-23 - Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka express hits elephants 2004-12-22 - Seneca, United States - Seneca Zoo Park Expansion Moves Forward 2004-12-22 - Kruger National Park, South Africa - Rampaging elephants a headache in South Africa 2004-12-20 - Colombo, Sri Lanka - One elephant dies, another injured in train crash 2004-12-19 - Brussels, Belgium - Providing CITES training support in Democratic Republic of Congo 2004-12-19 - MBOMO, Congo - Illicit ivory poaching relieves unemployment in Congo national park 2004-12-19 - Nairobi, Kenya - Elephant conservation gains momentum 2004-12-18 - Bangkok, Thailand - Poaching Pachyderms Ambush Food Trucks in Eastern Thailand 2004-12-16 - Johannesburg, South Africa - Keeps Elephants at Bay 2004-12-15 - Nairobi, Kenya - KWS Passes Buck Over Elephants 2004-12-11 - Hanoi, Vietnam - Vietnamese police uncovers big haul of smuggled elephant tusks 2004-12-08 - Calgary, Canada - Baby Asian elephant dies at Calgary Zoo 2004-12-07 - Nairobi, Kenya - Elephant tusks now more marketable than before 2004-12-07 - Nairobi, Kenya - Elephant tusks now more marketable than before 2004-12-07 - Tuli Block, Botswana - Where to now for Tuli elephants? 2004-12-07 - Khurda, Orissa, India - Wild elephants create panic in Orissa 2004-12-07 - JOHOR BARU, Malaysia - Assemblyman wants elephants out of his area 2004-12-06 - Chitwan, Nepal - Elephant polo stars just champion 2004-12-06 - BALING, Malaysia - Dead elephant"s ivory stolen within two hours 2004-12-06 - Ha Noi, Vietnam - Vietnamese Elephant tusk smugglers prosecuted 2004-12-06 - PARLIAMENT, Botswana - Botswana ministry sold 664 elephant hunting licenses 2004-12-06 - JOHOR BARU, Malaysia - The Royal London Circus Offer to rehabilitate rogue elephants in Terengganu 2004-12-04 - Detroit, United States - Calif. home found for zoo elephants, Detroit will transfer pair to sanctuary 2004-12-02 - Lahad Datu, Malaysia - Buckshot retrieved from elephant"s skull 2004-12-02 - Nairobi, Kenya - Plan to clear mines from elephant routes 2004-11-30 - Chester, United Kingdom - Chester Zoo to pay £75,000 for death of elephant keeper 2004-11-30 - Kruger National Park, South Africa - Scientists create elephant contraceptive drug 2004-11-30 - Sydney, Australia - Experts tell: zoo elephant demand fuels illegal trade 2004-11-29 - Fort Worth, United States - Pachyderm Specialists Gather for International Elephant Foundation Research Symposium 2004-11-28 - Sabah, Malaysia - Pygmy elephant killed for tusks in Malaysia"s Borneo 2004-11-27 - London, United Kingdom - From Africa to UK high streets, via China: inside lucrative world of ivory smuggling 2004-11-27 - New Guwahati, India - Four elephants rescued in Assam 2004-11-26 - Guwahati, India - Probe ordered into jumbo cruelty 2004-11-25 - Calgary, Canada - Calgary Zoos baby elephant at risk after mother"s rejection 2004-11-25 - GUWAHATI, India - Trunk calls, end man-elephant conflict 2004-11-23 - London, United Kingdom - Illegal ivory trade: UK cops" hands are tied 2004-11-22 - JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - One Park, Three Countries: The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park 2004-11-22 - PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, Thailand - Drought pushes wild elephants into pineapple fields 2004-11-22 - Uttara Kannada, India - ELEPHANT HERD WREAKS HAVOC IN UTTARA KANNADA 2004-11-22 - PARLIAMENT, Botswana - "Concentration of elephant herds dangerous to eco-system" 2004-11-22 - London, United Kingdom - Illegal traders "go unpunished" 2004-11-19 - New Delhi, India - India Supreme Court asks Project Elephant to take note of death of 77 tuskers 2004-11-18 - Panaji, India - Wild elephants cause havoc in Goa region 2004-11-17 - Calgary, Canada - Asian elephant calf born at Calgary Zoo 2004-11-17 - Cape Town, South Africa - Weapons for ivory: the illegal trade between Bejiing and Zimbabwe 2004-11-15 - Chhattisgarh, India - Elephant saves his companions trapped in a well in Pathalgaon 2004-11-15 - OMDURMAN, Sudan - In Africa, Ivory Battle Pits Elephant Conservationists Against Illegal Trade 2004-11-14 - GAUHATI, India - Beer-swilling elephants terrorize Indian villages 2004-11-14 - Ranchi, India - 50 kg ivory recovered in Jharkhand 2004-11-07 - KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia - Deparment may resort to culling of elephants in Malaysian Terengganu 2004-11-04 - PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - Poser over jumbo deaths in Malysia 2004-11-04 - Kariba, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force 2004-11-03 - Johannesburg, South Africa - SANParks Brews Plan to Cull Elephant Herds 2004-11-03 - SEGAMAT, Malaysia - Two elephants hit by train die 2004-11-02 - Nairobi, Kenya - Elephants At Risk, Activist Warns KWS 2004-11-01 - Houston, United States - Elephant herpes virus cited in Kimba"s death 2004-11-01 - Nairobi, Kenya - State is Blamed Over Wild Animals Encroachment 2004-11-01 - Beijing, China - China Leads the World in Importing Illegal Ivory 2004-10-30 - KUALA TERENGGANU, Malaysia - Jumbo blunder over relocation 2004-10-29 - Charleston, United States - Elephant trainer born into jumbo job 2004-10-29 - Sherpur, Bangladesh - 2 wild elephants died in Bangladesh, caught in electric traps 2004-10-29 - LENGGONG, Malaysia - Caution over wild elephants in Malaysia 2004-10-29 - Flores, Indonesia - Experts Split Over New Human, maybe not elephant hunters 2004-10-29 - Cape Town, South Africa - Man Friday: On the trail of elephants and Blue Bulls somewhere between Botswana and Namibia 2004-10-28 - Dhaka, Bangladesh - Mourning elephant electrocuted in Bangladesh 2004-10-28 - KOTA KINABALU, Indonesia - Sabah CM orders full report on killing of jumbo 2004-10-27 - LOS ANGELES, United States - Judge Keeps Ruby the Elephant Under Court Jurisdiction 2004-10-27 - Mysore, India - Mysore Zoo mahouts demand CBI probe, blame doctors for elephants death 2004-10-27 - Mysore, India - Vet Doctor fed 1 kg. soda to elephant Komala in Mysore Zoo! 2004-10-27 - Flores, Indonesia - Dwarf hominid (Homo floresiensis) lived in Indonesia just 18,000 years ago in the company of pygmy Stegodon elephants and giant lizards. 2004-10-27 - KOTA KINABALU, Indonesia - Borneo Bull elephant killed for tusks 2004-10-27 - Marongi, Guwahati, India - Drunken wild elephants trampled to death three people and injured two 2004-10-26 - Dak Lak, Vietnam - Dac Lac Elephant Festival 2004-10-25 - Mysore, India - Mysore Zoo cries foul after another elephant deaths 2004-10-25 - Chester, United Kingdom - Chester Zoo under attack after birth of elephant 2004-10-25 - London, India - Goldie Hawn"s elephant trip to India 2004-10-25 - Pretoria, South Africa - Massive elephant culling in Kruger Park on the cards 2004-10-24 - Kolkata, West Bengal, India - Elephants a drain on state exchequer 2004-10-24 - Johannesburg, South Africa - Why 5000 elephants must die 2004-10-23 - BANGKOK, Thailand - A Saviour for Asian Elephants 2004-10-23 - SURIN, Thailand - Surin prepares fruit buffet for over 300 elephants 2004-10-23 - Mysore, India - Royal procession for Dassera festival in Mysore 2004-10-23 - Cape Town, South Africa - Elephant culling: A "just war" no one wants 2004-10-22 - Pretoria, South Africa - Elephant Management Plan Proposed 2004-10-22 - MANCHESTER, United States - Animal attraction at city circus 2004-10-22 - Arusha, Tanzania - Tanzania to sell ivory to raise funds 2004-10-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa - South Africa weighs killing off excess elephants 2004-10-20 - NEW DELHI, India - King Poacher Hunted Down But Killing Raises Questions in India 2004-10-20 - Pretoria, South Africa - Kruger Elephants culling Debate Heats Up 2004-10-20 - Ottawa, Canada - TUBERCULOSIS THREAT POSED BY CIRCUS ELEPHANTS: PETA ALERTS CANADA AG MINISTER 2004-10-18 - Colombo, Sri Lanka - Asian elephant conservationists go to Kenya 2004-10-18 - Lusaka, Zambia - Zambia: Turning Poachers Into Cultivators 2004-10-18 - GABORONE, Botswana - Botswana"s 20 tonnes ivory trade on hold 2004-10-18 - CHICAGO, United States - Tuberculosis Kills Lincoln Park Zoo Elephant Tatima 2004-10-18 - MADRAS, Tamil Nadu, India - India"s most wanted bandit, elephant poacher and ivory smuggler Veerappan, killed by the police 2004-10-18 - Johannesburg, South Africa - Elephants: Vets offer help 2004-10-18 - Mysore, India - Balarama leads jumbo contingent 2004-10-18 - Kerala, India - Protecting the jumbo on elephant day 4th October 2004-10-17 - Taipei, Taiwan - Ling Wang on display at Taipei City Zoo 2004-10-17 - Kruger National Park, South Africa - Great Elephant Indaba: Elephants face cull as numbers rise 2004-10-15 - San Francisco, Thailand - All for love Couple trumpet plight of Thailand"s domestic elephants. 2004-10-15 - Windhoek, Namibia - Cites okays trade in ekipas 2004-10-15 - WASHINGTON, United States - Can fossil ivory save elephants? 2004-10-14 - BEIJING, China - China mulls Asian elephant protection corridor along its border with Laos. 2004-10-14 - Bangkok, Thailand - 14th CITES conference finished in Bangkok: CITES takes action to promote sustainable wildlife management and combat illegal trade 2004-10-14 - CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Riding the elephants on a trip back through time 2004-10-14 - Pretoria, South Africa - Elephant Debate Not a Ploy to Reintroduce Culling, Says Mabunda 2004-10-14 - Stockholm, Sweden - Circus Mustang´s Elephants Trample Homeowner"s Yard in Sweden 2004-10-14 - Chester, United Kingdom - Chester Zoo elephants trumpet a welcome for latest addition to family 2004-10-14 - BANGKOK, Thailand - Vets in Thailand Pull Aching Tusk 2004-10-14 - Boston, United States - Online ivory, an elephant-size problem 2004-10-13 - Washington, United States - Researchers Devise Potent New Tools To Curb Ivory Poaching 2004-10-13 - New Delhi, India - Armenia"s only elephant to get an Indian companion 2004-10-13 - Thrissur, India - The nuts and bolts of elephant dentistry in Guruvayoor 2004-10-13 - Coimbatore, India - A clarion call to conserve nature 2004-10-12 - Washington, United States - Assigning African elephant DNA to geographic region of origin: Applications to the ivory trade 2004-10-12 - Mysore, India - Mysore Dasara Celebration of pain? 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand - Southafrica Votes to Lift 20 year Global Ivory Ban 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand - Whales, Elephants Saved From Commercial Killers 2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand - Thais Face Jumbo Dilemma in Conserving Elephants 2004-10-11 - BANGKOK, Thailand - China Seen as Biggest Driver of Ivory Market 2004-10-11 - Bangkok, Thailand - CITES RESOLUTE-NO IVORY TRADE 2004-10-10 - PATHANAMTHITTA, India - Elephant kills mahout 2004-10-09 - Chiang mai, Thailand - Elephant encounter in Chiangmai 2004-10-08 - BANGKOK, Thailand - Plan for African Ivory Markets A Victory for Elephants, Says World Wildlife Fund 2004-10-08 - DOOMDOOMA, India - Trained elephants go on the rampage in northeast India 2004-10-07 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States - Alaska Zoo to Build Elephant Treadmill 2004-10-07 - GUWAHATI, India - Indian Elephants Fight Losing Battle with Man 2004-10-07 - Kampala, Uganda - Uganda Opposes Trade in Ivory but believes in the concept of sustainable utilisation 2004-10-07 - Nairobi, Kenya - A poachers" charter: Allowing "sustainable trade" in endangered species would make a few dealers rich, while wiping out Africa"s wildlife. 2004-10-07 - CORAL SPRINGS, United States - Elephants won"t join circus at Coral Springs shows 2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand - Kenya says ivory sales endanger poacher hunters 2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand - Khao Yai gets SE Asia"s first wildlife protection training centre 2004-10-06 - Taipei, Taiwan - Fibrosarcoma with lung and lymph node metastases in an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). 2004-10-06 - Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India - Elephants Day at Topslip Wildlife Sanctuary 2004-10-06 - WINDHOEK, Namibia - Ivory ban spells doom for Namibian tribe"s tradition 2004-10-06 - BANGKOK, Thailand - Ivory from extinct mammoths in big demand 2004-10-06 - KEGALLA, Sri Lanka - Living with jumbo handicaps -Sama at the Pinnawela orphanage 2004-10-06 - Mysore, India - Mysore City Palace under Siege! 2004-10-05 - BANGKOK, Thailand - EU opposes whaling, undecided on ivory at CITES 2004-10-05 - Ranchi, India - "To avoid confrontation, don"t worship elephants": 2004-10-05 - Hua Hin, Thailand - Whacky polo tees off jumbo fun 2004-10-04 - BHUBANESWAR, India - Avoiding man-animal conflict has become wild-goose chase 2004-10-02 - Pinnawela, Sri Lanka - Elephant Conservation and Breeding Centre:More space for Pinnawela elephants 2004-10-02 - Bangkok, Thailand - 13th CITES meeting kicks off 2004-10-01 - BANGKOK, Thailand - Thailand"s legal ivory trade a smokescreen for smuggled African tusks 2004-10-01 - Bangkok, Thailand - NGOs accuse Thai politicians of involvement in wildlife trade 2004-09-30 - Singapore, Singapore - Cologne welcomes Singapore Zoo"s most famous elephant 2004-09-29 - Washington, United States - Elephants Leading Long Lives In Professionally Managed Zoos 2004-09-28 - SEATTLE, United States - Using DNA to stop elephant poachers. UW researcher can trace ivory to its original region 2004-09-28 - Heidelberg, Germany - Ilona from Hannover to Heidelberg Zoo 28 september 2004-09-28 - Washington, United States - New scientific methods to identify elephant DNA in ivory 2004-09-27 - Bangkok, Thailand - Surin rally to raise funds for elephants 2004-09-25 - Pittsburgh, United States - Elephants find love at the zoo 2004-09-24 - Gaborone, Botswana - Botswana anthrax "subsiding" 2004-09-23 - Brahabebome, Ghana - Farmers at Kakum assisted to protect farms against elephants 2004-09-23 - Thailand, Thailand - Jen saves child from elephant 2004-09-21 - Hassan, Karnataka, India - Plan to catch rogue elephants cleared 2004-09-20 - Mysore, India - Mysore zoo elephants poisoned, says report 2004-09-19 - Ranchi, India - Two elephants electrocuted in Jharkhand, India 2004-09-15 - Harare, Zimbabwe - Row over Zimbabwe"s elephant numbers 2004-09-12 - Platschow, Germany - One more elephant with Frankello 2004-09-09 - Cologne, Germany - New elephant park opening in Cologne Zoo, Germany 2004-09-07 - Houston, United States - Sudden illness kills zoo elephant. Kimba, 13, was born in Houston"s exhibit in 1991 2004-09-05 - Mysore, India - Mysore Zoos Elephant Ganeshas death shocks animal lovers 2004-09-02 - Colombo, Sri Lanka - Yala National Park in Sri Lanka closed as thirsty elephants see red 2004-08-24 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States - Michigan Elephant Gets Therapy for Arthritis 2004-08-18 - Houston, United States - Shanti Gives Birth At Houston Zoo 2004-08-17 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States - Maggie the lonely elephant to stay in Alaska 2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States - Shots killing elephant Tyke echo across a decade 2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States - Shots killing elephant echo across a decade Activists favor outlawing elephant act 2004-08-10 - VANCOUVER, United States - Elephant Tina"s heart failed 2004-08-07 - POWELL, Ohio, United States - Columbus Zoo: Baby Elephant Named to Bodhi! 2004-08-02 - Jerusalem, Israel - German Specialists Make Ultrasound Examination of Pregnant Elephant at Jerusalem"s Biblical Zoo 2004-07-30 - Colombo, Sri Lanka - White elephant spotted in Sri Lanka - Albino pachyderm may boost conservation efforts 2004-07-26 - Maputo, Mozambique - MAPUTO ELEPHANT RESERVE RE-COUNT 21st July-26th July 2004 2004-07-26 - Durban, South Africa - Rogue elephants shot by rangers 2004-07-23 - VANCOUVER, United States - Tina the elephant dies 2004-07-21 - SHIMOGA, India - 69-year-old elephant gives birth to male calf 2004-07-20 - Los Angeles, United States - African elephant Ruby moved to Knoxville Zoo last year will return to Los Angeles 2004-07-07 - Lake Buena Vista, United States - 230-Pound Baby Elephant Born At Disney"s Animal Kingdom 2004-07-03 - Ratanakiri, Cambodia - Elephant tramples South Korean tourist in Cambodia 2004-06-28 - Maputo, Mozambique - Gorongosa National Park receives 500 elephants from Botswana 2004-06-25 - CHENNAI, India - Elephant calf dies at Vandalur zoo 2004-06-23 - Guwahati, India - Three Elephants killed by train in Guwahati 2004-06-20 - MALACCA, Malaysia - Baby elephant finds new home 2004-06-08 - Toronto, Canada - GLOBAL ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD FOR ANIMALS: ISIS AND CGI TO BUILD A ONE OF A KIND GLOBAL SPECIMEN AND COLLECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM 2004-06-01 - Vallejo, United States - Elephant trainer gored by elephant at Six Flags Marine World 2004-05-30 - Ernakulam, Kerala, India - Elephants create havoc in Jharkhand villages 2004-05-29 - Kushalnagar, India - Kidnapped elephant to undergo discipline training 2004-05-29 - Garden City, United States - PETA continues campaign to get Lee Richardson Zoo"s elephants in Kansas transferred to More Spacious Area 2004-04-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom - Day in the life of an elephant keeper 2004-04-10 - London, United Kingdom - Breathalyser detects tuberculosis 2004-03-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom - Whipsnade Wild Animal Park celebrates its first Asian elephant birth 2004-03-27 - Nairobi, Kenya - Kenya plans massive relocation of elephants 2004-03-25 - Calgary, Canada - An elephant"s casual shrug almost killed zookeeper Katie Hrynewich. 2004-03-24 - MYSORE, India - Dynamite in fodder kills elephant calf 2004-03-08 - San Francisco, United States - San Francisco Zoo euthanizes Calle after final controversy. Activists blamed for causing another elephant to push her down 2004-03-08 - Richmond, Illinois, United States - Hawthorn circus Elephants to leave McHenry County farm 2004-03-08 - Salt Lake City, United States - Hogle"s Kali the Elephant Euthanized 2004-03-05 - San Francisco, United States - San Francisco Zoo losing a beloved pachyderm. Keepers plan to euthanize sick, injured Calle the Elephant 2004-02-04 - Delhi, India - Therapy for stressed Indian elephants 2004-01-31 - Kaziranga, India - Football festival aids elephants 2004-01-23 - Calcutta, India - Drunken elephants die in accident 2004-01-23 - ESCONDIDO, United States - Keepers preparing for birth of African elephant 2004-01-23 - New Delhi, India - Zoo plays host to Parade elephants 2004-01-18 - Kanchanaburi, Thailand - Patent for elephant denture 2004-01-14 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Four Arrested in Tanzania Over Ivory Haul 2004-01-11 - Bhubaneswar, India - Remains of 500-year-old elephant excavated in Orissa, India 2004-01-08 - Shimba Hills, Kenya - Elephants to Be Moved 2004-01-07 - Bangkok, Thailand - Toothless elephant gets set of dentures 2004-01-04 - Livingstone, Zambia - Elephant ride ends in horror 2004-01-01 - Houston, United States - Newborn Elephant Dies At Houston Zoo [Start-Latest elephant news] [Latest headlines] [Archive 1995-2014]
2004-10-23 - Mysore, India. India News
People in Mysore today took out a colourful procession to celebrate the Hindu festival of Dassera(Dussehra). Dussehra was celebrated on Friday in most parts of the country according to the Hindu calendar. However, the royal Mysore Dussehra, unique for its procession of folk dancers and caparisoned elephants, is keenly awaited.
2004-10-23 - SURIN, Thailand.
Thailand's northeastern province of Surin plans to feed more than 300 elephants at the 44th annual elephant fair next month, the provincial governor, Kasemsak Sanpoj, told TNA on Friday. The elephant performance at the fair is aimed at attracting more tourists, he said. This year's elephant fair is scheduled to run from 12-23 November.
2004-10-23 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Sonny Inbaraj
Every creature, from a louse to a lyrebird, is a marvel of nature. But some marvels are just more marvellous than others - and none more so than an elephant. Consider this animal again and all it shares with us. Elephants live sixty to eighty years, the same span as humans.
2004-10-22 - Arusha, Tanzania. Mail and Guardian
Tanzania plans to sell 99 tonnes of confiscated elephant tusks in government stores to raise funds for conservation efforts and development projects, a senior official on said Friday. The ivory was seized from poachers or extracted from carcasses of elephants that died of natural causes, said Zakhia Meghji, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism.
2004-10-22 - MANCHESTER, United States. MICHAEL COUSINEAU, Union Leader Staff
Asia bent down on her left knee when hearing the word "knee" and raised the same leg when receiving the command "foot." No one, however, had to tell the 8,800-pound elephant to eat. She gobbled down an entire unsliced bread loaf from a reporter.
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.
2004-10-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Gershwin Wanneburg, Reuters
South Africa is weighing the option of killing off its excess elephants, 10 years after the practice known as culling was banned amid pressure from animal rights activists.
2004-10-20 - Ottawa, Canada. PETA
With the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus scheduled to tour Ontario next month, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent an urgent letter to Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Andrew Mitchell, urging him to prohibit elephants belonging to U.S. circuses from entering Canada because of concerns about tuberculosis (TB). PETA points out that a human strain of TB has been infecting and killing captive elephants in the United States since as early as 1981.
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.
2004-10-20 - NEW DELHI, India. Ranjit Devraj
India's most notorious bandit and king elephant poacher, Koose Muniswamy Veerapan, might be history after he was shot dead by police on Monday. But conservationists still remain sceptical on whether the illegal ivory trade can be stemmed in the country, while a leading human rights group has called for an inquiry into his killing.
2004-10-18 - Kerala, India. K.S. Sudhi, The Hindu
THE FORESTS and Wildlife Department has taken a leaf out of the song `Friends of the Elephant', for redefining and re-inventing the relationship between the mightiest animal and man. It is in the process of doing this that the Department has declared October 4 as Elephant Day for the first time and initiated steps to bring in focus the need for creating a new relation between the animal and man.
2004-10-18 - Mysore, India.
The majestic Balarama, 46, will be leading the elephant contingent in the Dasara celebrations this October. He is already in town along with five other elephants, catching the admiring attention of the passers-by while on his routine walk every day morning and evening on the traditional Vijaya Dasami procession route in Mysore.
2004-10-18 - Johannesburg, South Africa. News 24
The Veterinary Association of SA offered its assistance in controlling elephant populations in South Africa's national parks on Monday. Unabated growth of the elephant population in the parks posed a serious threat to the habitat, wildlife and tourist potential of the country's parks, Jozeph van Heerden, spokesperson for the association, said in a statement.
2004-10-18 - MADRAS, Tamil Nadu, India. AP
India's most wanted bandit, accused of murdering police officers, killing over 130 innocent people and 2,000 elephants and smuggling millions of dollars of illegal sandalwood and ivory, was killed Monday night in a jungle shootout with police, an officer said. Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, who had eluded police for three decades, and three other suspects were shot to death in a 20-minute gunbattle with a special police task force just before midnight, in a jungle forest, said K. Sent...
2004-10-18 - CHICAGO, United States. Jon Duncanson, cbc2chicago.com
An elephant has died inside Lincoln Park Zoo, and now the health of animal keepers is being closely watched. Tatima, an African elephant, was found dead inside her habitat on Saturday. Zoo officials believe she died of tuberculosis. It will take 12 weeks to confirm whether the elephant had tuberculosis.
2004-10-18 - GABORONE, Botswana. BOPA , Daily News online
Botswana's sale of about 20 tonnes of ivory sanctioned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has been suspended because some countries have failed to meet one of the preconditions. Botswana, Namibia and South Africa were granted permission for a one-off sale of 60 tonnes of ivory in 2002.
2004-10-18 - Lusaka, Zambia. UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
A World Conservation Society (WCS) project in eastern Zambia's game-rich Luangwa valley is helping to transform poachers into farmers and entrepreneurs.
2004-10-18 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
In an unprecedented move a group of Asian elephant conservationists were taken on a tour of the conservation and research sites in Kenya. The group consisted of thirteen individuals from eight Asian countries.
2004-10-17 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. Karen MacGregor, Times Online
For years conservationists have fought to protect South Africa’s elephants from poachers and hunters, but now it seems that they may have been too successful. Experts claim that there are too many elephants in the country’s parks and thousands must be killed to preserve valuable habitats for other species.
2004-10-17 - Taipei, Taiwan.
A stuffed replica of the famous elephant, Ling Wang, is on display at the Taipei City Zoo. The eighty-six year old elephant is a common memory for many generations in Taiwan. After two years of construction, the life-sized specimen is now ready to greet the public today.
2004-10-15 - WASHINGTON, United States. Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post
Hunters find the ancient tusks clustered on sandbars near the Arctic Ocean, carried there by spring-melt waters flowing from the Siberian tundra. A pair of them, dried, polished and elegantly mounted for a trophy room or home museum, can weigh 400 pounds and cost up to $75,000.
2004-10-15 - Windhoek, Namibia. Absalom Shigwedha
Althought Namibia failed to get Cites' permission for an annual export quota of 2 000kg of ivory, it got approval to allow local communities trade in ivory trinkets, known as ekipas.
2004-10-15 - San Francisco, Thailand. Karen Pierce Gonzalez, San Fransisco Chronicle
After a vacation in Thailand, Santa Rosa couple work to save domestic elephants they could never forget. Blind at 38, Jokia had spent much of her life in Thailand's illegal logging operations. Forced to work long hours every day, the Asian elephant had been drugged with amphetamines to keep her productive. Today, thanks to the work of a Santa Rosa nonprofit called All for Elephants, Jokia lives near the town of Janghai in northern Thailand on land owned by elephant rescuer Lek Chailart of Thaila...
2004-10-14 - Boston, United States. Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor
Masquerading as Internet buyers, TRAFFIC investigators found that sellers of ivory on Internet "stores" regularly ship elephant ivory to the US via express-delivery services - often falsely labeling the shipment with such euphemisms as "bone carving." That exquisite little carved-ivory elephant for sale on eBay is described as a Chinese antique. Then again, it could be an illegal piece of tusk from an African elephant shot last year. That's the quandary Interne...
2004-10-14 - BANGKOK, Thailand. AP
If a toothache is bad, just imagine what a tusk ache must feel like. So pity the poor three-ton bull elephant Kamsaen, whose four months of agony finally came to an end when veterinarians extracted a partially cut tusk which had become infected.
2004-10-14 - Chester, United Kingdom. Daily Post
Chester Zoo has welcomed its latest attraction - a 180kg baby elephant born just a few days ago.
2004-10-14 - Stockholm, Sweden. Mattias Karen, Associated Press
A homeowner in southern Sweden filed a police complaint after four circus elephants broke loose from their trainers and ran into his back yard, trampling the hedge and the lawn, a police spokesman said Thursday.
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.
2004-10-14 - CHIANG MAI, Thailand. Ed Johnson, Canadian Press
Hand-feeding a hungry elephant is an unnerving experience. At the first whiff of a banana, its leathery grey trunk snakes out, probes the air and sucks it from your hand with a squelch, much like shoving fruit into a wet vacuum cleaner nozzle.
2004-10-14 - Bangkok, Thailand. CITES
A two-week meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will close here today after agreeing decisions to strengthen wildlife management, combat illegal trafficking and update the trade rules for a wide range of plant and animal species.
2004-10-14 - BEIJING, China. Xinhuanet
The Asian elephant is the largest terrestrial mammal in Asia. Although many thousands of domesticated Asian elephants are found in Southeast Asia, this magnificent animal is facing extinction in the wild. China is trying to alleviate the situation by establishing an Asian elephant protection corridor in the south of the country, along its border with Laos.
2004-10-13 - Coimbatore, India. V.S.Palaniappan, The Hindu
It was curtains down for the weeklong wildlife celebrations. The Coimbatore territorial forest division chose to celebrate the event in an unusual manner mobilising the school students to make them realise the importance of flora and fauna.
2004-10-13 - Thrissur, India. Indo-Asian News Service
He is a vet, a dentist, a mahout and a sculptor all rolled into one - and Sankaranarayanan needs every one of those skills when he carves out tusks from softwood and fits them on elephants with nuts and bolts. A mahout by profession, who has been working for the past 35 years with the famous Guruvayoor temple trust in southern India that owns 69 captive elephants, started on this particular job only eight years ago.
2004-10-13 - New Delhi, India. Sapa-DPA
The only male elephant in Armenia's zoo will get an Indian female companion this week, a news report said on Wednesday. Armenian officials had asked the Indian government for a female pachyderm in 1999, for its sole male elephant originally from Moscow. Indian premier Atal Behari Vajpayee promised them an elephant during a visit to Armenia last year.
2004-10-13 - Washington, United States.
Despite a long-standing international ban on ivory trade, African elephants continue to be killed in large numbers for their prized tusks. But a team headed by a University of Washington biologist has devised a new means of determining the geographic origin of ivory that could prove a potent tool in slowing elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade by identifying hot spots where enforcement should be increased.
2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Sasithorn Simaporn, Reuters
Elephants kicking soccer balls, painting flowers with their trunks, or twirling a hula-hoop are a common sight in Thailand, where the sacred warrior beasts perform in tourist shows or peddle fruits on the streets of Bangkok.
2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Ranjit Devraj
The world's 'flagship species' on land and sea, whales and elephants, won a reprieve on Tuesday from commercial exploitation at a major conservation conference in Thailand's capital.
2004-10-12 - Bangkok, Thailand. Business Day
Southafrica, along with the rest of the southern African countries at a global wildlife conference in Thailand, voted against Kenya's proposal to place a 20 year moratorium on ivory trading yesterday.
2004-10-12 - Mysore, India. Deccan Herald
You might enjoy dasara but not these elephants, says RAGHUPATHY K P When dasara begins, it is the elephants that attract the crowd. People who come to witness the ‘Jambu Sawari’ are enthralled by the decorated elephants. And the legendary Balarama, a majestic animal which carries the golden howdah gets special attention.
2004-10-12 - Washington, United States. Samuel K. Wasser, Andrew M. Shedlock, Kenine Comstock, Elaine A. Ostrander, Benezeth Mutayoba,and Matthew Stephens. The National Academy of Sciences
Resurgence of illicit trade in African elephant ivory is placing the elephant at renewed risk. Regulation of this trade could be vastly improved by the ability to verify the geographic origin of tusks. We address this need by developing a combined genetic and statistical method to determine the origin of poached ivory. Our statistical approach exploits a smoothing method to estimate geographic-specific allele frequencies over the entire African elephants' range for 16 microsatellite loci, using ...
2004-10-11 - Bangkok, Thailand. Species Survival Network
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted in a late night session to deny Namibia an annual quota of 2,000kg of raw ivory and an unlimited quantity of worked ivory jewelry, known as “ekipas.” The decision could have serious, long-term, and positive implications for elephant conservation across Africa.
2004-10-11 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters
Booming demand in China is the biggest driver of the illegal ivory market and there is no clear link between allowing regulated legal trade and a rise in black market supplies, a report to a U.N. conference said on Monday.
2004-10-10 - PATHANAMTHITTA, India.
A 17-year-old mahout, Krishnakumar alias Sreekumar of Elavumthitta near Aranmula, was crushed to death by a domesticated elephant at Elavumthitta this forenoon. According to eyewitnesses, the pachyderm attacked the mahout without any provocation and his brain was smashed when he was fatally crushed against a wayside wall.
2004-10-09 - Chiang mai, Thailand. Pamela Phang Kooi Yoong
THE first stroke went from the left to the middle, then straight down. The second stroke came from the right, and went down the middle of the paper as well. They were confident, sure strokes that eventually yielded something that looked like a tree. Then came the yellow patches, followed by red ones at the end of each branch. A painting of a tree with buttercup-like flowers soon emerged. It was simple, beautiful . . . and amazing. The artist: an elephant.
2004-10-08 - DOOMDOOMA, India. Khaleej Times (Reuters)
The phone rang, as Dinesh Choudhury was finishing dinner. A rogue elephant was on the loose in the jungles of northeastern India, and four people were already dead. Choudhury’s first move was to try to convince the tranquilliser team to make another attempt, but they had seen enough of Golap’s anger not to want to approach him again. “I found him after just 10 minutes and fired over his head,” he said later. “People were agitated, but I just pretended it was a miss.” O...
2004-10-08 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Jan Vertefeuille, Sarah Janicke - WWF
World Wildlife Fund and TRAFFIC applaud African countries who today announced a continent-wide action plan to crack down on their domestic ivory markets, calling it a major victory for elephant conservation.
2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News
Khao Yai National Park is to become home to the first training centre for wildlife protection officials in Southeast Asia, the Minister for Natural Resources and Environment announced, Suwit Khunkitti, today.
2004-10-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters
Kenya is on the front line of the "wildlife wars" and says its men in the trenches will be at risk if a U.N. conference approves a Namibian bid to sell more ivory.
2004-10-07 - CORAL SPRINGS, United States. Sallie James, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Despite protests from animal rights activists, the circus will come to town next month for four days. Just don't expect to see any elephants. The DeLand-based Cole Bros. Circus, which this year dropped the name "Clyde Beatty" from its title, will perform Nov. 11-14 at the Sportsplex near the Sawgrass Expressway. Circus officials pulled the elephants because of complaints, said circus spokesman Bruce Pratt.
2004-10-07 - Nairobi, Kenya. Richard Leakey, The Guardian
Fifteen years ago, the world's television screens relayed images of Daniel arap Moi, Kenya's then president, and myself setting fire to 2,000 elephant tusks. Kenya could have earned millions of pounds by selling the stockpile. But I believed we had to illustrate graphically the impact of the ivory trade, and show that the only way of saving Africa's elephants was to destroy the trade. Throughout the 1980s, ivory trading - most of it fed by ...
2004-10-07 - Kampala, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa, New Vision
A TEAM of wildlife officials has left for a global meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to oppose the lifting of the ban imposed on ivory trade. "Uganda believes in the concept of sustainable utilisation. We recognise that Uganda's elephant population growth in the last 20 years is partly due to the ban on ivory. Uganda therefore, proposes that this ban should be upheld until such a time that mechanisms for regulating ivory trade and elephant produc...
2004-10-07 - GUWAHATI, India. Simon Denyer, Reuters
It is an unexpected headache for the Indian army, an unlikely embarrassment for the government and an unwelcome challenge for the railways department. Elephants in India are on the rampage, coming into conflict with man ever more frequently and ever more dangerously. It is a battle the normally gentle animals seem destined to lose.
2004-10-07 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska, United States. Mary Pemberton, Associated Press Writer
Alaska zoo is to build what it believes to be the world's first elephant treadmill as part of plans to enrich its only elephant's life with better accommodation and activities.
2004-10-06 - Mysore, India. Star of Mysore
The Palace acquisition proceedings have resurfaced curiously amidst the brisk preparations for the Dasara festivities which may trigger many more controversies during this Dasara.
2004-10-06 - KEGALLA, Sri Lanka. R.K. Radhakrishnan
It was eight years ago that Sama was brought to the Pinnewala elephant orphanage here. The cow-elephant had lost a leg when it stepped on a landmine in the northern jungles. It was about five then. Today, the orphanage veterinarian, Chandana Rajapaksa, is worried.
2004-10-06 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters
Ivory from the tusks of extinct mammoths is being used as a legal substitute for the stuff provided by its living elephant kin, but poor quality and a finite supply means it will never replace it, experts say.
2004-10-06 - WINDHOEK, Namibia. AFP
Women from Namibia's Ukwanyama tribe proudly display the shiny pieces of carved ivory which dangle from their red leather belts, many of them decades old and handed down from mother to daughter. The carved pieces, called "ekipa", are important tokens in the traditional life of this tribe, which straddles northern Namibia and southern Angola.
2004-10-06 - Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India.
NO MORNING line-up or rides for tourists into the jungles on their backs! It was Elephants Day, part of Wildlife Week celebrations, at the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Topslip near Pollachi this Sunday, and the pachyderms were having a real holiday. The Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, T. Sekar, said that the elephants were brought to Topslip from their camps in Kozhikamudhi and Varagliyar tribal settlements.
2004-10-06 - Taipei, Taiwan. Liu CH, Chang CH, Chin SC, Chang PH, Zhuo YX, Lee CC.. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University
A case of fibrosarcoma with lung and lymph node metastases in a 54-year-old female Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is described. After pododermatitis of 2 years duration in the right forefoot, a mass developed in the lateral toenail. At postmortem, metastasis to the right axillary lymph node and both lungs was noted. Microscopic examination of primary and metastatic sites revealed infiltrating bundles of spindle cells, with fairly distinct cell borders, variable amounts of eosinophilic cytoplas...
2004-10-05 - Hua Hin, Thailand. AP
With the crack of clashing mallets and the thump of jumbo feet shaking the earth, the game is under way. Tense commands are shouted by pith-helmeted players tied firmly to their two-ton mounts. Soon there is a muddle in the middle. The beasts collide and the ball disappears in a forest of elephantine legs, raising some dust and much laughter. It’s a classic scrum in the whacky sport of elephant polo.
2004-10-05 - Ranchi, India. Indo-Asian News Service
Don't store liquor. Don't go out into the forests drunk. Don't worship elephants. And move only in groups at night. These are among a list of do's and don'ts brought out by the forest department of Jharkhand in a bid to check the growing cases of man-elephant conflict that have resulted in the deaths of over 300 villagers here in the last four years.
2004-10-05 - BANGKOK, Thailand. Ed Stoddard, Reuters
The European Union looked set on Tuesday to harpoon a Japanese bid to resume commercial trade in whale products, but has yet to take a stand on a Namibian attempt to loosen restrictions on ivory sales.
2004-10-04 - BHUBANESWAR, India.
Between man and animal, it is a conflict that is getting grimmer by the day. The more the human beings invade their habitations, the stronger becomes their resistance. And, same goes the retaliation from the man's side. As the State celebrates Wildlife Week, it is down to the basics for survival for both man and animal. Consider this. From 1998-99 to 2003-04, elephants killed more men than the other way round. In these six years, the pachyderms killed 228 human beings.
2004-10-02 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News
The 13th Meeting of the Conference of Parties to CITES kicked off in Bangkok today. It is the first time that a CITES meetng is held in the Southeast Asian region.
2004-10-02 - Pinnawela, Sri Lanka. Florence Wickramage
The Elephant Orphanage at Pinnawela will be upgraded as the Elephant Conservation and Breeding Centre and the entire complex including the large extent of land will be redesigned to afford more protection and movement facilities for elephants.
2004-10-01 - Bangkok, Thailand.
Conservationists yesterday took a stab at the Thai government, accusing senior national politicians of involvement in the illegal trade in endangered species, while calling for a ban on Thai elephant exports.
2004-10-01 - BANGKOK, Thailand. AFP
In the heart of Bangkok's bustling Chinatown, shops filled with tourist trinkets and antiques hide an illegal multi-million dollar ivory trade that environmentalists warn is destroying global elephant populations. Inside a cluttered tourist gift shop, an AFP reporter posing as a buyer asked to see banned African ivory and after a heated debate between the shop's two owners was shown smuggled tusks apparently hacked from the head of a slaughtered elephant.
2004-09-30 - Singapore, Singapore.
The Singapore Zoo's most famous elephant headed to Germany to be part of a conservation programme at the Cologne Zoo, its former keepers said.
2004-09-29 - Washington, United States.
New research shows that elephants in professionally managed zoological facilities have life expectancies similar to elephants in the wild. The finding, published in the August edition of the journal Zoo Biology (Volume 23, Issue 4), refutes a 2002 study that claimed wild elephants typically live longer. The new research used a different testing methodology, which its authors say corrects these earlier findings.
2004-09-28 - Washington, United States.
Washington - Using elephant dung and skin samples, researchers say they are able to make a map of elephant DNA that can help track down ivory poachers.
2004-09-28 - Heidelberg, Germany. Dan Koehl
Because of Califa und Farina, the last elephant baby births in Hannover Zoo, peace was over, and the kindergarten became a little bit too much for Ilona. At the 29 of September 2004 she was transfered to Zoo Heidelberg, in a seventeen meter long vehicle, during eight hours journey at the german autobahn.
2004-09-28 - SEATTLE, United States. CAROL SMITH
It's like doing cold-case detective work on elephants, but University of Washington scientist Samuel Wasser has devised an innovative method for pinpointing the DNA fingerprints of poached elephant tusks. The method, reported yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could give conservationists their most powerful tool yet in the battle to hunt down the poachers who are decimating the African elephant population.
2004-09-27 - Bangkok, Thailand. MCOT News
The north-eastern province of Surin, famed for its annual elephant round-ups, is to conduct its second elephant rally this year to help raise funds for Thai elephants.
2004-09-25 - Pittsburgh, United States. Michelle K. Massie, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jack is back and he's looking for love. Jack, whose full name is Jackson, is a 10,400-pound African male elephant and the only naturally breeding bull in the United States. Due to his acclaim, Jack has made his rounds around the country, most recently at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, mating with willing adult female elephants. Since May, he's been back at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
2004-09-24 - Gaborone, Botswana.
The outbreak of anthrax in Botswana's Chobe National Park had claimed the lives of 265 animals, but was now subsiding, an assistant director in the Department of Wildlife said on Friday. Of the 265 animals found dead in Chobe, 248 were buffalo, and 12 were elephants. The carcasses had been disposed of.
2004-09-23 - Thailand, Thailand.
Jennifer Ellison saved a young girl from being crushed by an elephant in Thailand. She dashed to pick up four-year-old Stacey Young after she fell during an elephant ride, reports the Daily Star.
2004-09-23 - Brahabebome, Ghana.
A 234,000 dollar- project, initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), last year, to protect farms in communities around the Kakum National Park from marauding elephants, has yielded positive results. For the first time in over 20 years, farmers at Aboabo camp, Nyamebekyere, Adubiase, Siriboekro, Brahabebome, Kasum and Alicekrom, have been able to harvest their food crops without any hindrance from the elephants.
2004-09-21 - Hassan, Karnataka, India.
The Divisional Conservator of Forests, Hassan Division, S. Shekar, has said that the Government has given the green signal to catch and trans-locate two rogue elephants that are creating havoc in Alur, Sakleshpur and part of Arkalgud taluks.
2004-09-20 - Mysore, India.
The susipicion of a foul play in the deaths of zoo elephants Ganesha and Roopa has proved right. The laboratory reports have confirmed that the elephants were killed using a strong chemical poison (zinc phosphide). The two elephants, which died on September 4 and September 7 respectively, had acute haemorrhagic enteritis and respiratory distress because of the poison. Zinc phosphide is normally used to kill rodents and it is a cheap poison available in the market.
2004-09-19 - Ranchi, India. Indo-Asian News Service
Two elephants died when they came in contact with a high-voltage power line near this Jharkhand capital, following which a herd of elephants ran amok and damaged several houses and other properties. While roaming in the Torpa area, 40 km from Ranchi, an elephant died when its trunk touched an 11,000-volt electrical line. Another elephant came to its rescue and met the same fate.
2004-09-15 - Harare, Zimbabwe.
President Robert Mugabe's cronies have apparently inflated Zimbabwe's elephant population to dupe the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (Cites) into allowing Harare to continue trading in ivory.
2004-09-12 - Platschow, Germany.
The elephant trainer Sonny Frankello has bought yet one more elephant. A few months ago he received the female elephant Sandra and now he has bought a male elephant – Moritz. The elephant comes from the German Scholl family. Sonny has now 6 African elephants. 2 males Sahib and Moriz and four females Mala, Sandra, Kenia and Timba. Only 3 of the elephants have been on tour this year.
2004-09-09 - Cologne, Germany. Barbara Brem
On September 9th, the “Elephant Park” was officially opened in Cologne. Three bulls and two cows from Holland and England, as well as a six-year old bull from Singapore now live on 5,000 square meters interior enclosure and in a 15,000 square meters outdoor park. The 20,000 square meter facility takes up approximately ten percent of the overall zoo property.
2004-09-07 - Houston, United States. Danny Perez, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Zoo staff members tried feverishly to save Kimba's life, but the 13-year-old female Asian elephant died Monday afternoon after a sudden illness.
2004-09-05 - Mysore, India.
The death of an elephant in the Mysore zoo on Saturday has shocked animal lovers and the zoo authorities here. Ganesha, who was 30 years old, was reported to be dull since Friday. The Executive Director of Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, Manoj Kumar, said the elephant was suffering from severe abdominal pain and responded to treatment initially. However, it died at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
2004-09-02 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Reuters
Sri Lanka has closed its biggest wildlife reserve because a severe drought has dried up watering holes and left wild elephants thirsty, angry and ready to charge, park officials say.
2004-08-24 - ROYAL OAK, Michigan, United States. TAREK EL-TABLAWY
Like any patient, Wanda needs positive reinforcement to wrestle through her physical therapy. At 46, time and a few extra pounds have taken their toll on this Royal Oak resident's bones, and her eyes roam to the treats the needed incentive to overcome the pain during her workout. "Leg up," says Mary Wulff, who guides Wanda through the routines. "Good girl!"
2004-08-18 - Houston, United States.
Asian Elephant Births 338-Pound Baby GirlAfter 22 months of pregnancy, Shanti, a 13-year-old Asian elephant at the Houston Zoo gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday evening, August 17, 2004, at the Houston Zoo to a healthy female calf with the name Bella!
2004-08-17 - Anchorage, Alaska, United States.
America's and the world´s northernmost elephant is staying put, to the relief of many visitors at the Alaska Zoo and the consternation of some animal advocates who say the African-born pachyderm needs a warmer climate, more space and the company of her own kind.
2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. By Rosemarie Bernardo, Starbulletin
Makakilo resident Donna Wier remembers that horrible day 10 years ago when a man was trampled to death by an 8,000-pound elephant at the Blaisdell Arena. "It was pretty traumatic," said Wier, who took her sons Dillon, then 6, and Koa, 10 months, to the circus for the first time. "It's still in the back of our minds."
2004-08-16 - Honolulu, United States. Rosemarie Bernardo
A circus that includes elephant performances has not come to Hawaii since Tyke's rampage. However, there was an attempt last year by the Ringling Bros Circus. The organization filed for a permit to bring two Asian elephants for a February circus performance. There were no other requests to bring in elephants for circus acts, said Cravalho. An elephant, however, was brought to Honolulu for the filming of the Disney movie "George of the Jungle" in 1997 under strict safeguards.
2004-08-10 - VANCOUVER, United States.
Tests show the Tina, the elephant who was moved from B.C. to an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee last summer, died of heart failure.
2004-08-07 - POWELL, Ohio, United States.
The winning name in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Name the Baby Elephant Contest is Bodhi, entered by Alison Dutro of Dublin, Ohio. The announcement of the winning name was made today at 1 p.m.
2004-08-02 - Jerusalem, Israel. GCM/CRB
A German team from the IZW, The Institute of Zoo Wildlife Research in Berlin, make an ultrasound examination of Tamar, a pregnant elephant, at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo July 31, 2004.
2004-07-30 - Colombo, Sri Lanka. Helen Pilcher
A rare albino elephant has been spotted roaming Sri Lanka's Ruhunu National Park, the first recorded sighting in the country. The pale-skinned pachyderm, thought to be around 11 years old, lives with a 17-strong herd of adult females and youngsters. Tracking the herd's movements could help researchers devise new strategies for the protection and management of Sri Lanka's elephants.
2004-07-26 - Durban, South Africa. Chris Jenkins, Daily News
Game rangers have shot three rogue elephants in Zululand's Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. The culling was in terms of a head office directive to control "delinquent" elephants to avoid possible fatal attacks on staff, neighbours or visitors.
2004-07-26 - Maputo, Mozambique. Joe Holmes, University of Pretoria
The initial count was done in October 2002 for CERU, the Conservation Ecology Research Unit of the University of Pretoria. We received a request from Dr Tim Jackson in the early part of this year to do a follow up count to enable comparisons to be drawn.
2004-07-23 - VANCOUVER, United States.
Tina, the Asian elephant with the ailing feet, who moved from B.C. to Tenneessee has died. The 34-year-old pachyderm was transferred last August to the Elephant Sanctuary at Hohenwald, southwest of Nashville.
2004-07-21 - SHIMOGA, India.
It was a day of celebration at the elephant camp at Sakrebylu, about 15 km from here, on Wednesday as an elephant calf was born within 15 days of another calf being born. Kaveri, a 69-year-old elephant, gave birth to a male calf this morning. It was the second delivery of Kaveri, the first one being in 1969.
2004-07-20 - Los Angeles, United States. Lora LaMarca, Los Angeles Zoo
Working with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s (AZA) Species Survival Plan managers for elephants, the Los Angeles Zoo had been seeking a better and more social situation for Ruby, a 43-year-old African elephant. The decision was made to move Ruby from the Los Angeles Zoo to the Knoxville (Tennessee) Zoo in May 2003.
2004-07-07 - Lake Buena Vista, United States.
An 18-year-old African elephant gave birth to a 230-pound baby at Disney's Animal Kingdom, according to Local 6 News. The elephant calf arrived Tuesday night to join its 18-year-old mother, Vasha, after 22 months in the womb, according to an official. The elephant's name is Kianga, which means "Sunshine" in Swahili.
2004-07-03 - Ratanakiri, Cambodia.
An enraged elephant in remote northeastern Cambodia has trampled a South Korean tourist who tried to take its photograph. The Cambodia Daily reports 29-year-old Chong Huisit, suffered broken ribs and other injuries when the beast turned on him, just before it was supposed to take him for a ride in jungle-clad Ratanakiri province. The victim was airlifted to Phnom Penh for treatment.
2004-06-28 - Maputo, Mozambique. Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
The Gorongosa National Park, in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, is to receive 500 elephants from Botswana, during the second half of this year, as part of its restocking programme, reports Monday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
2004-06-25 - CHENNAI, India. P. Oppili
A three-and-half-month-old elephant calf died at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur, on Wednesday. The calf, Ramu, was rescued last month from the forest area in Amirthi near Vellore after his mother died.
2004-06-23 - Guwahati, India.
A goods carriage train hit a herd of elephants when they were crossing the railway line which passes through a dense forest area of Ajara on the outskirts of Guwahati, in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, resulting in the death of three elephants on Monday June 21, forest officials said.
2004-06-20 - MALACCA, Malaysia. Lee Yuk Peng, The Star
A six-month-old baby elephant, which was separated from its mother in the Johor forest, will be bred in captivity in the Malacca Zoo.The male calf, named Rio, which still needs milk from its mother until it turns two, will now have to grow up on low-fat cow’s milk mixed with bread.
2004-06-08 - Toronto, Canada.
The International Species Information System (ISIS), a global organization that serves the institutional, regional and global animal management and conservation goals of more than 600 zoos and aquariums from 70 countries around the world, has selected CGI Group Inc. (CGI) (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB) to design, build and maintain a next generation data management system. This seven-year, multi-million dollar information technology (IT) contract will facilitate the real-time collection and tracking of...
2004-06-01 - Vallejo, United States.
An elephant trainer at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo was in critical condition Tuesday after he was gored by one of the pachyderms, a fire department spokesman said. Patrick Chapple, 39, was standing next to 7,000-pound Misha, a 23-year-old female African elephant, at about 3:30 p.m. when the animal turned suddenly from grazing and knocked him to the ground.
2004-05-30 - Ernakulam, Kerala, India. New Kerala
Villagers in Jharkhand are a harried lot as they come under constant attacks by heards of wild elephants. According to official estimates nearly 29 people have been killed and many injured in the last two years in Ranchi district by wild elephants.
2004-05-29 - Garden City, United States.
An animal rights group is continuing its campaign to persuade the Lee Richardson Zoo to send its two elephants to a more spacious sanctuary, despite the zoo's plans to expand the elephants' living quarters.
2004-05-29 - Kushalnagar, India.
A celebrity elephant is to undergo training in India after plantation owners kidnapped it for trampling over their crops. Harsha went on the rampage while leading a royal procession in Kushalnagar.
2004-04-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom.
I arrive at elephant house with the other elephant keepers at around 7.30am, and we are usually greeted by the female elephants who flap their ears at us. The first job of the day is to sweep the barn out before preparing a hearty breakfast for all the elephants. Breakfast usually consists of nutritional pellets with vitamins and bananas - breakfast is just as important for elephants as it is for people!
2004-04-10 - London, United Kingdom. BBC
Coughing into a breathalyser could be the new way to detect the most common form of tuberculosis. The portable device, developed by Rapid Biosensor Systems, would be quicker and easier to use than the current screening method, called the Heaf test.
2004-03-30 - Whipsnade, United Kingdom.
Whipsnade Wild Animal Park's new born Asian elephant calf will be making her first public appearance today, Tuesday 30th March. The female calf, born on Tuesday 16th March to 22 year old mother, Kaylee, weighed in at a whopping 149kg on arrival and will be an important addition to the breeding programme for this endangered species.
2004-03-27 - Nairobi, Kenya.
Kenya plans to move 400 elephants away from a reserve where jumbos are breaking down fences and trampling crops in its biggest animal relocation exercise, wildlife officials said on Friday.
2004-03-25 - Calgary, Canada. BILL KAUFMANN
As a group of Grade 3 students looked on, the pachyderm handler at the Calgary Zoo took a header from pregnant, 3,000 kg Asian elephant Maharani. "A flash went in front of my eyes and when I recovered my vision, I was lying at her feet -- I gave her two opportunities to finish me off," says Hrynewich, 41, of the March 25, 2004, incident. Moments before, Hrynewich had been rewarding Maharani with herbal cookies for a successful bath. "I had a really, really good rapport with that elephant and eve...
2004-03-24 - MYSORE, India. The Hindu
A dynamite concealed in fodder exploded in the mouth of an elephant calf, ripping its face apart and leaving the hapless creature writhing in agony until it died on Wednesday.
2004-03-08 - Salt Lake City, United States. (KSL News)
Another animal has been euthanized at Hogle Zoo. The Zoo's grand dame, Kali the elephant was put down this morning. This morning zookeepers found Kali alert, but lying on the floor of her exhibit. She was unable to get up, due to her severe joint arthritis. Kali was 59, the third oldest living Asian elephant in the country.
2004-03-08 - Richmond, Illinois, United States. Jeff Long, Tribune staff reporter
The owner of a circus-training facility in rural McHenry County has agreed to find new homes for his elephants under an agreement with federal authorities, officials announced today. The proposed agreement between John Cuneo, owner of Hawthorn Corp., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture would end the government's case against Cuneo and his company for dozens of alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act concerning the elephants' care.
2004-03-08 - San Francisco, United States. Demian Bulwa
Calle the ailing elephant died at the San Francisco Zoo on Sunday morning, hours after another elephant attacked her, an attack that zoo officials are blaming on animal rights demonstrators who they say agitated the beasts. Zoo veterinarians quietly euthanized Calle, a 37-year-old female Asian elephant, at about 5 a.m., after she dropped to her belly and rolled on her side.
2004-03-05 - San Francisco, United States. Patricia Yollin
The troubled life of Calle the Elephant, one of the San Francisco Zoos most beloved residents, will soon come to an end. The zoo has decided to euthanize the 37-year-old, 10,000-pound creature because her health has been declining since October. After Calle is euthanized, Tinkerbelle may be sent to another zoo.
2004-02-04 - Delhi, India. Adam Mynott BBC South Asia correspondent
India's captive elephants are stressed, unhappy and need therapy, according to the Wildlife Trust of India. They have called in an expert - a sort of "elephant-whisperer" - from the United States to help them.
2004-01-31 - Kaziranga, India.
Almost 100 elephants have taken part in a football game in India as part of an annual festival aimed at encouraging locals to protect the animals
2004-01-23 - New Delhi, India. Prakriti Prasad
The Delhi Zoo is extending its hospitality to the elephants that carry bravery award winners in the Republic Day parade. Visitors to the zoo are greeted by these elephants, brought from all over Delhi and domesticated by their private owners, right at the entrance, where they are putting up in the scooter parking lot. Every morning, they are taken to Rajpath for their training.
2004-01-23 - ESCONDIDO, United States. ANDREA MOSS
The countdown has begun, even if nobody knows when it will end. Anticipation is mounting behind the scenes at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where keepers are closely monitoring a pregnant African elephant that is expected to give birth in the next month or two. Ultrasounds and hormone tests suggest the mother is about 21 months into a pregnancy that, if it follows the average, will last 22 months.
2004-01-23 - Calcutta, India. Subir Bhaumik
Four wild elephants drunk on rice beer have been electrocuted in the north-east Indian state of Meghalaya, wildlife officials report. The elephants are known to have a taste for rice beer brewed by tribal communities across north-east India. But this is the first time some of them have died after consuming the drink. A herd of about 20 to 25 elephants went on the rampage in a remote area in the West Garo Hills district earlier this week after getting high on the beer.
2004-01-18 - Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Pornprapa Rattanadang, The Nation
The inventor of a denture fitted to an 80-year-old elephant, allowing it to eat normally, has applied for a patent for the device. "It has been a great success," said Somsak Jitniyom of the Mount Chayarat Centre for Research and Technology Transfer.
2004-01-14 - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Reuters
Four men were arrested in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam after they were found with 73 elephant tusks, police said Wednesday.
2004-01-11 - Bhubaneswar, India. Jatindra Dash, Newkerala.com
A team of archaeologists has uncovered the remains of an elephant believed to be 500 years old from a fort in Orissa. The team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found the remains at the Barabati fort at Cuttack town, 26 km from here. The skeleton was found two metres below the surface during the excavation of the fort's 102 acres of land, said P.K. Dwibedi, in charge of the ASI's office here.
2004-01-08 - Shimba Hills, Kenya. Daniel Nyassy, The East African Standard
Four hundred elephants in Shimba Hills Game Park, Kwale, are to get a new home starting next month. They will be moved to the Tsavo National Park, as ordered by President Kibaki in his tour of the Coast Province.
2004-01-07 - Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok Post
A toothless old elephant who was slowly starving to death has been fitted with a set of specially made dentures in what could be the first in the world. The U-shaped denture, 15cm wide and 15cm long, is made of stainless steel, silicone and plastic. It was developed especially for Morakot, an 80-year-old cow elephant at the Chang Phuan Kaeo elephant ground in Kanchanaburi province.
2004-01-04 - Livingstone, Zambia. Gudrun Heckl
A South African couple's elephant-riding adventure turned into a life-threatening drama on the day of their 30th wedding anniversary. Schoolteacher Sue Pearson is recovering from serious chest injuries in a Johannesburg hospital after a dramatic rescue effort spanning three countries, dogged by power failures at a clinic and an airport. Pearson and her husband John, a Johannesburg businessman, were swept off a 24-year-old elephant which ran into a tree on the banks ...
2004-01-01 - Houston, United States.
The Houston Zoo is mourning the loss of it's newest addition. A new born Asian elephant died at the zoo Monday. The female calf died about 30 hours after her mother, Methai, gave birth. Zookeepers said the calf appeared to be very healthy right after labor but suspected something was wrong a few hours later. The zoo said the calf's mother is in good health and is now in an area visible to visitors.
