2022-10-21 - Kampala, Uganda.
A Ugandan court has sentenced an ivory trader to life in prison - the longest sentence for such crimes in the country's history. A new law was passed in 2019 that toughened sentences for poaching or trafficking in endangered species. Pascal Ochiba was arrested in January this year with two pieces of ivory, weighing nearly 10kg (22lb). The magistrate said Ochiba, as a repeat offender, deserved life in prison for the future protection of wildlife.
2022-04-12 - Fort Portal, Uganda.
A Colombian researcher has died after being trampled on by an elephant in Uganda's Kibale National Park. Ramirez Amaya Sebastian, who is based at a university in the US, had been carrying out a routine research in the park forest with an assistant when the incident happened, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The elephant attack at Kibale was the first deadly incident at the park in 50 years, UWA said.
2021-01-10 - Masindi, Uganda. Michael Ojok
According to Jalon Lakony Opiyo, every time elephants invade the area, each member of the village which has around 2000 households contributes 1000 shillings for the rangers to rescue them and their properties.
2015-11-13 - Entebbe, Uganda.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), working with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has completed an aerial survey, which shows that Ugandan elephant numbers have increased significantly since the 1980´s. The areas surveyed did not include all protected areas, such as the Maramagambo forest within Queen Elizabeth National Park.
2014-01-31 - Entebbe, Uganda.
The Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) says it will start using surveillance drones to help protect elephants and other endangered animals that have come under increased threat from poachers in recent months. The unmanned aircraft are scheduled to be flying by the end of the year. UWA Executive Director Andrew Seguya told reporters that the drones will catch poachers “while in the act.”
2013-10-18 - Kampala, Uganda.
Over 800 pieces were found concealed in a container ready for shipment via the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to China. Said to be worth over 6 billion Uganda Shillings, the catch will financially pain the middlemen of the illicit trade but have cost several hundred elephant their lives.
2012-02-13 - Kampala, Uganda.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) last weekend handed over illegal Elephant Ivory, Monitor Lizard skins and Rhino teeth worth Ush1.6b ($700,000) to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The trophies that are banned under the Convention in Trade in Endangered Species were impounded over the last three months destined for export. The items were impounded at different customs points after lacking exportation documents. According to Mr. James Kisaame, the enforcement assistant commissioner at URA, 1...
2012-01-21 - Entebbe, Uganda.
Authority received an assortment of machines, including computers, ivory detectors and security torches for its workers. The equipment worth Shs7.5 million, a donation from Bush Meat Eastern Africa, will help the wildlife authority staff track animals through the Global Positioning System and also detect ivory in whichever form it has been carried.
2011-12-05 - Kampala, Uganda.
Conservationists have raised the red flag over the increase in poaching of elephants in national parks. According to UWA, 33 elephants have been killed at Murchison Falls National Game Park in the last seven years, of which 25 have been killed this year. The numbers of elephants killed in parks since the year began have more than tripled.
2010-09-15 - Kampala, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa
POACHERS kill three elephants in Uganda every year, John Makombo, the acting head of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), has said. “Poaching has never been stopped anywhere in the world, but it can be controlled. That is one of the reasons UWA exists,” Makombo said. According to Makombo, the population of elephants, currently estimated at 5,000, has been increasing over the years due to UWA’s strong anti-poaching drives.
2010-09-06 - Toro-Semliki, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa
TWO elephants have been killed in Toro-Semliki wildlife reserve in western Uganda by poachers who crossed over from the Congo. Sources said one of the poachers was intercepted with elephant ivory and was being held by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces. The sources added that the elephants were butchered on Wednesday and the carcasses were discovered the following day.
2009-09-10 - Kampala, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa
EACH week, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has to rescue an elephant or lion from a wire snare.The snares, set up by poachers, are fixed on fences or trees to trap the animals. According to Sam Mwandha, UWA's director of conservation, poaching is common in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls national parks. "We have been called every week to remove snares from animals in the two parks," he said.
2009-09-07 - Mulago, Uganda.
MUSTAFA Batanyenda, the Rukungiri man who was seriously wounded by a marauding elephant, has been transferred to Mulago Hospital where he is expected to undergo a major operation this week. Mulago Hospital spokesperson Erifazi Ssekabira said on Thursday the patient’s wounds were being treated in preparation for the operation. He noted that Batanyenda sustained broken jaws.
2009-09-02 - Nyakibale, Uganda. Milton Olupot
NYAKIBALE Hospital in Rukungiri district is stranded with a man, whose jaws were shattered in an attack by an elephant on Augusts 27 as he tended his garden at Kihihi village in Kanungu district. Mustapha Batanyenda, 48, is said to have been hurled by an elephant onto a tree, injuring him severely. He now needs extensive facial recontructive surgery, according to Dr. Ronald Kasyaba. For him to regain near normalcy, this surgical reconstruction has to be done, that is if he has not died by the ti...
2008-11-25 - Kampala, Uganda.
It may not be quite as bad as the Three Bears returning home to find Goldilocks sleeping in one of their beds, but Ugandan villagers returning to the villages they abandoned during the East African nation's civil war are being met with a rather large surprise. "Elephants are moving into the villages," says Sam Mwandha, operations director for the state-owned Uganda Wildlife Authority. Much of Uganda's northern region lies in the so-called elephant corridor, a vast tropical flat terrain that adjo...
2008-10-24 - Amuru, Uganda.
Marauding elephants in northern Uganda have added to the challenges faced by civilians trying to rebuild their lives in the wake of 20 years of civil war, destroying their crops and prompting some to return to displaced people’s (IDP) camps they had only recently left. "The villagers are scared of the elephants; some of them have sought refuge in huts they had left in the [IDP] camps," John Bosco Okullo, a local leader in Amuru District told IRIN.
2008-10-09 - Kampala, Uganda. Edmund Kagire
Most rare and precious African fauna and flora species are on the verge of extinction, today more than in the past years following increased illegal trade in the past decade as global demand for these increases on daily basis. Data from the Lusaka Agreement reveals that over 20.000 elephants are killed in Africa annually and the ivory worth over $20m is exported to China, USA and Japan where it has a lucrative ready market. There is also a ready market for rhino horns, hippo teeth, primates like...
2008-07-28 - Kampala, Uganda. Patience Aber
The Police and army have launched a joint operation to drive back 35 stary elephants from Amuru District to Murchison Falls National Park. "We have embarked on an operation to drive elephants straying in Kochgoma and Alero sub-counties in Amuru district back to their conservation area in Murchison Falls National Park," UPDF northern region spokesperson Capt Ronald Kakurungu said last Tuesday in a statement. The elephants recently crossed over into the new district. Capt. Kakurungu said they are ...
2008-05-13 - Kampala, Uganda. Okello JB, Masembe C, Rasmussen HB, Wittemyer G, Omondi P, Kahindi O, Muwanika VB, Arctander P, Douglas-Hamilton I, Nyakaana S, Siegismund HR. Makerere University
We investigated population genetic structure and regional differentiation among African savannah elephants in Kenya using mitochondrial and microsatellite markers. We observed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) nucleotide diversity of 1.68% and microsatellite variation in terms of average number of alleles, expected and observed heterozygosities in the total study population of 10.20, 0.75, and 0.69, respectively. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance of mtDNA variation revealed significant differe...
2008-04-07 - Kampala, Uganda. Wolfgang H. Thome
A French tourist visitor had a near fatal run in with an elephant at Murchisons Falls National Park last week. Ignoring guidance habitually given to visitors, to take a ranger with them for their game drive, the group approached some elephants to within very close range before switching their car engine off. Little did they know that a female elephant with a small cub was taking this intrusion into her space as a potential threat to her newly born and promptly went on the attack.
2008-03-27 - Murchison Falls , Uganda. Gerald Tenywa
A French tourist sustained serious injuries when he was attacked by an elephant, which was protecting its calf at Murchison Falls National Park. According to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), a group of tourists visited the park on March 22 and went for a game drive. “We offered to guide and protect them but they declined,” said Sam Mwandha, the UWA director of field operations. “They went too close to the elephant and turned off the engine of their vehicle instead of leaving it running...
2008-03-02 - Kampala, Uganda.
2007-11-23 - Kasese, Uganda. Michael Karugaba
A Herd of Elephants from Queen Elizabeth National Park has invaded Kisinga, Lake Katwe and Kyalhumba sub-counties in Bukonzo East, destroying several acres of crops. speaking to the press on Tuesday, the LC 1 Chairman for Rwentutu village in Lake Katwe Sub-county, Mr Semu Bwambale, said the most hit villages are Kabirizi, Rwentutu and Kighenge, where crops have been destroyed causing fear of a famine out break in the near future.
2007-10-01 - Kasese, Uganda.
Elephants and monkeys from the Queen Elizabeth and Kibaale National parks have destroyed crops in the district. The crops include cassava, maize, pineapples and paw paws. The affected areas are Nyakiyumbu, Kisinga, Lake Katwe, Kichwamba and Muhokya villages. “The Elephants have also left many cotton fields destroyed. The cases were reported but the Government has not yet helped the people whose gardens were destroyed,” said Xavier Muhindo, the district production coordinator. He was addressi...
2007-09-24 - Gulu, Uganda. David Kilama
Several elephants have invaded IDP camps in Amuru District destroying crops threatening peoples lives and forcing many to flee to safety. The elephants, which came from Murchison Falls National Park, are said to be searching for food. The most affected areas are Koch Goma Sub-county, Amar and Alero parishes and Ongako Camp.
2007-09-19 - Lira, Uganda. Julius Ocen
Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army has reacted with fury to plans for a joint Ugandan-Congolese military attack on its main base in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels have based themselves in the DRC's Garamba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inhabited by the world's last few northern white rhinos, the only known population of Congo giraffe and elephants, buffalos, and hippopotamus.
2007-08-08 - Kampala, Uganda. Chris Ocowun
THE internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in camps bordering Murchison Falls National Game Park in Amuru district have petitioned President Yoweri Museveni over the actions of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The IDPs want the authority to drive back the elephants that invaded their area. The locals said this in a meeting with the special presidential advisor for the north, Richard Todwong, last week. Todwong assessed the destruction caused by over 400 elephants that have invaded the vi...
2007-01-28 - Kampala, Uganda. Gerald Tenywa
THE elephant population in Queen Elizabeth National Park has hit the level of three decades ago of about 3,000. According to a census report released by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the elephant population is about 2,959, up from 2,497 in 2004. The population doubled between 2000 and 2004 when it increased from 1,100. UWA’s head of research and monitoring Aggrey Rwetsiba attributed the growth to reduced poaching and increased migration of elephants from DR Congo. The park’s managemen...
2006-12-15 - Kampala, Uganda.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has impounded a large consignment of ivory valued at 227 million Ugandan shillings (126,000 U.S. dollars) in Kampala. Paul Kyeyune, URA's Public and Corporate Affairs officer, was quoted by local media Friday as saying the 99 pieces of ivory weighing about 250 kg were intercepted at a tip-off at Kabuusu Tuesday midnight on the outskirts of Kampala.
2006-06-06 - Kampala, Uganda. Charles Akena
OVER 100 people in Kamdini village have given up poaching wild game and handed over an assortment of hunting implements to the authorities. A delegation of 245 poachers led by Mr Patrick Odongo handed over spears, traps, wire snares, cooking pots and other tools to the Senior Conservation Officer of Murchison National Park, Mr Stonewall Kato, at Kamdini Parish last week. They revealed that they used to hunt animals in the park and later sell the meat to hotel proprietors in Kampala and other are...
2006-02-16 - Bunyaruguru, Uganda. Thair Shaikh
THEY say that elephants never forget, and it could be that they are using their memories to exact revenge on people who make their lives a misery. A new study says that the usually gentle giants may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by frightening experiences at an early age. In parts of Uganda they have raided villages, demolished huts and destroyed plots, not in an effort to get at food but to scare the people living there.
2005-04-20 - Kampala, Uganda.
An Indian tourist at a wildlife reserve in northern Uganda was killed by an elephant when he and several compatriots tried to get a close look at the pachyderm and her calf, officials said on Tuesday. The slain safari-goer was one of six Indian visitors in the Murchison Falls National Park on Sunday to have misjudged the distance between themselves and a group of elephants and were charged, the officials said.
2005-04-18 - KAMPALA, Uganda. GEOFFREY MULEME
The once-threatened elephant population in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park increased by more than 1,000 during the past three years, partly because of animals fleeing poachers and civil war in neighboring Congo, a government wildlife official said Monday. Thousands of elephants in the park were slaughtered in the 1970s by dictator Idi Amin's soldiers and in the 1980s by rebel armies. The area is now protected, and the elephant population is booming because animals are leaving adjacent Vir...
2005-03-15 - Kampala, Uganda. Chris Ahimbisibwe
Four elephants from Queen Elizabeth National Park invaded Rubengye village in Burere sub-county, Bushenyi district and left crop gardens destroyed. The area councillor, Ephraim Biraro, revealed this on Friday during a district council meeting.
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...
2023-10-02 - Fort Worth, United States.
The Elephant Managers Association (EMA) is proud to announce the dates for our 44th annual conference, hosted by both the Fort Worth Zoo and Dallas Zoo on October 2 to 5, 2023. The conference will inc...
2023-09-10 - Temerloh, Malaysia.
The female elephant, which died at the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre (PKGK) in Lanchang, was brought to the country from Assam, India in 1974. Lokimala was brought to this country...
2023-08-28 - Pattaya, Thailand.
Following Thai tradition, the offspring of Pang Sarai, 22, and Plai Ningnong, 27, was named ‘Plai Boonmak,’ symbolizing ‘Abundant Merit.’ This ceremony expressed heartfelt wishes for the well-...
2023-08-26 - Omaha, United States.
The baby elephant at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo officially has a name; Amandra. Pronounced “ah-MON-dra,” the name means “strong woman.” The zoo said it was chosen by a donor and their family. ...
2023-08-24 - Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Zoo’s nine-year-old elephant Man Jai has died after a sudden illness. The Asian elephant was diagnosed with an incurable disease on Monday after zookeepers noticed lethargy and swelling in...
2023-08-22 - Mysore, India.
Preparations are in full swing at the Mysore Palace premises ahead of the arrival of the Dasara elephants. The jumbos will camp here for approximately two months, undergoing training and consuming nut...
2023-08-21 - Kataragama, Sri Lanka.
An individual who fed a poisoned watermelon to an elephant called “ Asela” of the Kataragama Abhinawarama temple was taken into custody by the Kataragama police on saturday. However, Veterinary S...
2023-08-21 - Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Contraceptives are now being successfully used to prevent elephant overpopulation in South Africa. Approximately 75% of all breeding-age female elephants outside of the greater Kruger National Park ha...
2023-08-21 - Sapporo, Japan.
19-year-old Asian elephant Pearl and her newborn baby stand together at the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo. According to the zoo, this is the first time in Japan that an Asian elephant has been born ...
2023-08-18 - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Two elephants at the Hanoi Zoo have been unchained after electric fences have been replaced anew. Le Si Dung, general director of the Hanoi Zoological Garden company, on Thursday said the two elephant...
2023-08-18 - Lampang, Thailand.
The Thai elephant, recently repatriated from Sri Lanka, Sak Surin, was moved to a new home today (Friday), at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang province, after the completion of its 30-...
2023-08-16 - Wuhan, China.
Born on June 26, 2022, the male elephant marked the first time that the zoo successfully bred an African elephant. The calf's father, named A Hai, and his mother, named A Nan, came to Wuhan in 1997 fr...
2023-08-14 - Fresno, United States.
The Fresno Chaffee Zoo celebrated World Elephant Day with a big announcement. Zoo officials say their female African Elephants are pregnant. They are expected to give birth between September and Octob...
2023-07-05 - Lampang, Thailand.
It is out of question that Sak Surin, now the most famous elephant in Thailand, will have to return to Sri Lanka, as he is now under the patronage of HM the King, said Natural Resources and Environmen...
2023-07-04 - Lampang, Thailand.
On 2 July 2023 at 07.00 hrs. the Tusker, Muthu Raja (Sak Surin), was transported from Sri Lanka to Thailand for medical treatment and rehabilitation by Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane, with cooperation fro...
2023-05-27 - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
A team of veterinarians and experts will be sent to Sri Lanka next month to prepare for the return of Sak Surin, an ailing and ageing Thai elephant, to Thailand for medical treatment and physical reha...
2023-05-21 - Karachi, Pakistan.
A month after the death of Noor Jehan, an elephant in Karachi Zoo whose illness revived criticisms of the zoos, a second elephant named Madhubala is sick with a potentially fatal infection. The 18-yea...
2023-05-18 - , United States.
Callee, a 22-year-old male who has been at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium since 2019, will be moved to the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, the Omaha zoo announced on Thursday. Callee's move was...
2023-05-15 - Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
In the early evening of May 11, a small crowd gathered in front of the Zoológico Dr. Juan A. Rivero, hoping for one last peek of Mundi, the elephant symbol of the zoo shut down for animal abuse in M...
2023-05-09 - Dallas, United States.
The Dallas Zoo made the heartbreaking announcement Tuesday that one of its elephants has died. The 7-year-old African elephant, Ajabu, passed away Monday after a 12-day battle with a viral infection, ...
