One of the Largest Subspecies of Giraffes Is Declared Endangered: the Masai

One of the Largest Subspecies of Giraffes Is Declared Endangered: the Masai

Conservationists have been sounding the alarm bells on giraffes for several years. In 2016, the IUCN listed giraffes as a whole as vulnerable, the status just above endangered after finding that over three decades giraffes suffered up to a 40 percent population drop, plummeting from an estimated 157,000 individuals to 97,500.

Currently, two of the nine giraffe subspecies—the Kordofan and Nubian—are critically endangered, while the Reticulated is endangered. Now, after a recent assessment, the Masai subspecies has also been listed as endangered. It’s the first time the population has been analyzed on its own, and the status is a big deal since there are an estimated 35,000 individual Masai left, making it one of the largest-remaining subspecies of the gentle giants and, therefore, a key population for keeping the species numbers up.

Previously, the Masai subspecies was the most-populous group of giraffes, with an estimated 71,000 individuals. That drop of 49 to 51 percent of the subspecies in the last 30 years was what prompted the listing, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Botswana Has An Elephant Poaching Problem, Not An Overpopulation Problem

Botswana Has An Elephant Poaching Problem, Not An Overpopulation Problem

The Botswana government recently reintroduced trophy hunting after a five-year moratorium. It did so on the pretext that Botswana has “too many elephants”.

But a new academic paper shows that this argument doesn’t hold.

The researchers compared the results of two aerial surveys in northern Botswana. The first was conducted in 2014, the second in 2018. Both were conducted during the dry season. This allowed for easy detection of changes over time.

A 94,000km2 area was studied and the elephant population estimated at 122,700 in 2018. This was roughly similar to the 2014 numbers.

But comparing results from the 2014 and 2018 aerial surveys, the scientists found that the numbers of elephant carcasses have increased, especially for newer carcasses dead for less than roughly 1 year. Populations can remain stable despite increased carcass counts because of new births and immigration from other range states.

The Botswana government recently reintroduced trophy hunting after a five-year moratorium. It did so on the pretext that Botswana has “too many elephants”.

But a new academic paper shows that this argument doesn’t hold.

The researchers compared the results of two aerial surveys in northern Botswana. The first was conducted in 2014, the second in 2018. Both were conducted during the dry season. This allowed for easy detection of changes over time.

A 94,000km2 area was studied and the elephant population estimated at 122,700 in 2018. This was roughly similar to the 2014 numbers.

But comparing results from the 2014 and 2018 aerial surveys, the scientists found that the numbers of elephant carcasses have increased, especially for newer carcasses dead for less than roughly 1 year. Populations can remain stable despite increased carcass counts because of new births and immigration from other range states.

The United States May List Giraffes as an Endangered Species As Young Population Plummets

The United States May List Giraffes as an Endangered Species As Young Population Plummets

Between 1985 and 2016, the world's giraffe population plummeted by nearly 40 percent. Just over 97,000 of the long-necked mammals remain in the wild, including 68,000 mature adults—equivalent to less than a quarter of the world’s estimated African elephant population, Michael Biesecker reports for the Associated Press. While elephants were listed as a threatened species under the United States’ Endangered Species Act in 1978, giraffes have yet to receive any such legal protections.

A petition filed by environmental and conservation groups in April 2017 may pave the way for giraffes’ addition to the legislative act. According to the statement, the petition presents “substantial information that listing may be warranted,” as threats, including land development, civil unrest, commercial trade and poaching, pose major obstacles to the species’ long-term survival.

Five Things to Know About Botswana’s Decision to Lift Ban on Hunting Elephants

Five Things to Know About Botswana’s Decision to Lift Ban on Hunting Elephants

Botswana, home to the world’s largest African elephant population, has lifted its five-year suspension of elephant hunting, attracting the ire of conservationists while placating those who argue that the land giants, known to kill livestock and destroy crops, are wreaking havoc on locals’ livelihoods.

In a statement detailing the reversal, Botswana’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism cited the increasing prevalence of human-elephant conflict, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks’ inability to respond to animal control reports in a timely fashion, and the toll on communities ill-equipped to handle the unimpeded roaming of these roughly 12,000-pound creatures. The ministry further said that reinstatement will be performed “in an orderly and ethical manner.”

The exact nature of this “ethical” implementation remains unclear, as do the long-term ramifications of the decision for both Botswana’s human and pachyderm residents. But in the meantime, here’s what we do know:

Elephants Reduced to a Political Football as Botswana Brings Back Hunting

Elephants Reduced to a Political Football as Botswana Brings Back Hunting

Botswana has reinstated trophy hunting after a 5-year moratorium on the practice.

In the wake of evidently declining wildlife numbers, former president Ian Khama imposed the ban in early 2014. Elephant numbers had plummeted by 15% in the preceding decade. The hunting industry had been granted a total quota of between 420 and 800 elephants a year during that time. Evidence of abuse was prolific and communities were not benefiting from the fees that hunters were paying.

Over the past five years Botswana has earned a reputation as the continent’s last elephant haven. It harbours just over a third of Africa’s remaining savanna elephants.

Khama’s successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi, has been in the job for just over a year. He’s promoted a conservation doctrine that is diametrically opposed to Khama’s.

Masisi recently hosted a conference in Kasane that brought together heads of state and environment ministers from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its pretext was to formulate a common vision for managing southern Africa’s elephants under the banner of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA). But the conference was used to drum up support for Botswana’s intended reversion to elephant hunting.

Elephant Conservation Update From Botswana Includes Pending Prince Harry Transfer Of Elephants To Zambia

Elephant Conservation Update From Botswana Includes Pending Prince Harry Transfer Of Elephants To Zambia

PORTER escapes to Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge, an adventurous tented hideaway in Botswana’s Savute Channel, part of Chobe National Park and boasting the highest concentration of elephants in Africa.

Belmond Savute prides itself on a “happy marriage of style and substance; for the eco-conscious traveler”, offering “the tents’ sustainable design features (that) include the removal of all concrete, the use of eco-friendly composite bamboo decking in the principal areas, and a 95% solar-grid system for power.” 

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Elephant Deaths in Botswana

Since September 2018, controversy has swirled in Botswana around the story that 87 elephants were reported to be “killed by poachers’ in Botswana. The high-impact story originated with “Elephants Without Borders,” an NGO in the USA and Botswana surveying the elephant population.

Under the new government of Mokgweetsi Masisi, Botswana’s parliament is exploring its ban on trophy hunting, citing the large size of Botswana’s elephant population and the growing issue of human-elephant conflic (HEC) in the country.

Politicians have quoted the Botswana elephant population to be as large as 237,000. However the African Elephant Status Report (AESR) estimates Botswana’s elephant population to be 131,626 individuals migrating across an area of 228,073 square kilometres. The vast majority of these elephants occur in the northern region that includes Chobe, Moremi, and the Okavango Delta.

Dem. Rep Raul Grijalva Expands Proposed Protections Under CECIL Animal Trophies Act

Dem. Rep Raul Grijalva Expands Proposed Protections Under CECIL Animal Trophies Act

US Rep. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), the top House Democrat overseeing endangered species legislation on trophy hunting, has expanded Endangered Species Act protections with new requirements that legal animal imports must help conserve the animal’s species.

Grijalva named the legislation — not introduced for the first time — the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act, or CECIL Animal Trophies Act, after Cecil the African lion whose 2015 killing by American dentist and big-game hunter Walter Palmer caused an international uproar.

CECIL would prohibit elephant and lion trophy imports from Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia, and it comes at a time when many Trump supporters who are big-game hunters are infuriated by delays in easing restrictions against killing the animals.

“The bottom line is they are afraid as shit to get off the fence,” Dwight Miloff, a frequent trophy hunter, told The Hill. “They know if they get off the fence the anti-hunting people will be up in arms, and if they don’t grant them the people who put in the money for the permit will be pissed off.”

In Africa, Concern Mounts About The Safety Of Botswana's Thriving (And Challenging) Elephant Population

In Africa, Concern Mounts About The Safety Of Botswana's Thriving (And Challenging) Elephant Population

My heart dropped two weeks ago, when global news outlets reported that about 90 carcasses of illegally killed Botswana elephants had been found around a famous wildlife sanctuary Chobe National Park. Thanks to exceptional conservation efforts mandated by Botswana’s former president Ian Khama, the country’s elephant population has swelled to an estimated 120,000  – believed to be the highest concentration of African elephants in the world.

I was embarassed, frankly, over articles that I wrote several years ago about another of Botswana’s great treasures — the adjacent to Chobe National Park, Okavango Delta — and its promise of feminine principles in new luxury lodgings and wildlife conservation in the Okavango Delta. With a love of elephants decades old and a commitment to donate 5% of our GlamTribal business revenues to elephant conservation, I’m not a Pollyanna on the plight of Africa’s elephants.

Days became two weeks, and I failed to write about the Botswana elephants, until I found a tremendous resource last night called The Conversation.com. What a goddess send!!

Ross Harvey, Senior Researcher in Natural Resource Governance (Africa), South African Institute of International Affairs picks up the story of the terrible tragedy for Botswana’s elephants.

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes didn’t just become an activist two years ago, but the Dutch superstar model, mom, wife, design collaborator and activist for humanity tells Vanity Fair that it’s her role as global ambassador for #Knot on My Planet that gives her a tremendous sense of purpose.

Vanity Fair checked in with Kroes before shooting the new #Knot on My Planet campaign with Naomi Campbell and Serena Williams also part of the production. The Knot on My Planet elephant conservation effort gained momentum when Reed Krakoff became chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. last year. The new collection will expand beyond elephants to also include rhino and lion pieces.

Tiffany has partnered with the Elephant Crisis Fund on the #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign, launching an initial campaign featuring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington Burns, Naomi Campbell and other prominent voices tying a knot to never forget elephants under threat from ivory poachers.

While there has been some good news — China banned all commercial ivory trading in 2017 — the situation remains bleak in many African countries. Most recently, nearly 100 elephants were discovered dead in Botswana, a country that has relaxed its elephant protection policies under its newly-elected president Mokgweetsi Masisi. New reports in Africa are that Botswana is also considering lifting its hunting ban.

Followup October. 21, 2018: The New York Times wrote on September 28 an article ‘Doubts Mount in Botswana Over Charity’s Claim of Elephant ‘Poaching Frenzy’.

We will dig much deeper into the very thoughtful arguments raised in this article concerning the influences of outside groups involved in elephant conservation being pitted against the wishes and interests of native Africans living on the land. The NYT article is too complex and valuable a read to treat it as an addendum.

AFRICAN ELEPHANTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUSAN MCCONNELL.

Returning to Tiffany & Co, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany and chairman and president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, sat down with Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, to discuss his tireless efforts on behalf of these magnificent creatures and what we can all do to help.

Tanzania's Elephant Population Hit Extremely Hard, Losing About 70% In Last Decade

AFTER BEING COLLARED AND REVIVED AN ELEPHANT MAKES ITS WAY BACK TO ITS HERD IN SELOUS GAME RESERVE, TANZANIA

Tanzania's Elephant Population Hit Extremely Hard, Losing About 70% In Last Decade

The global elephant populations is in a state of crisis in many countries. Tanzania is now a key center of Africa's poaching crisis, after a government census analyzing the nation's elephant population from 2009 to 2014 revealed a catastrophic loss of 60% of its elephants in just five years. 

Revealing elephant declines far greater than expected, the census estimated Tanzania's elephant population in 2014 at 43,330, down from 109,051 in 2009. Fast forward to 2018, and Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve has lost almost 90% of the park's elephants over the past 40 years. Forty years ago, 100,000 elephants roamed Selous, located in southern Tanzania, and today the number is estimated to be 15,200. 

"Tanzania has been extremely hard hit by the latest elephant poaching crisis that has hit the African continent for 10 years," Bas Huijbregts, WWF's African species manager, told CNN.

Elephant Love: Doutzen Kroes Launches Phase 2 Of Tiffany's #KnotOnMyPlanet

In 2016 supermodel Doutzen Kroes launched her #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign, created to support elephant conservation. Tiffany & Co came on board as a major sponsor and collaborator.

“We tie a knot when we don’t want to forget,” Doutzen said in the 2016 launch, explaining the campaign’s slogan. “We’ve been forgetting the elephants, and if we don’t do something now, they will disappear.”

The 2017 #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign launched in August with Tiffany & Co. developing key pieces to support elephant conservation. The New York jeweler has committed at least $1 million of sales to the Elephant Crisis Fund

“In the face of political uncertainty, those of us in the business community have a responsibility to keep moving forward,” Anisa Costa, chief sustainability officer and president of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, explains. “From taking bold action on climate change to supporting organizations working to protect biodiversity and precious land and seascapes, Tiffany will continue to use the full power of its brand to bring attention to these critical issues.”

“Socially conscious consumers are demanding higher levels of sustainability and activism from companies today," Costa adds, "and the Save the Wild collection is an exciting opportunity for us to both increase awareness and financially support an issue we care deeply about."

Shop the Tiffany Save the Wild Collection

Sweden's Angelo Vukasovic Loves Giraffe Meat As Britain Honors Slain MP Jo Cox

DNA Research Explains Giraffes Long Necks As Global Population Plummets 40% AOC GLAMTRIBAL

It was World Giraffe Day on Tuesday, as global activists tried to raise consciousness about the massive decline of giraffe populations worldwide. But it was Sweden -- home to all the values global progressives hold dear -- where news was made, as Angelo Vukasovic, treasurer of the Sweden Democrats Party in Nybro, who make big news. Photos of Vukasovic, treasurer of the far-right Sweden Democrats in Nybro and manager of a hunting shop. posted images of a hunting trip to South Africa, where he and friends hunted, killed and then roasted several wild animals.

Vukasovic says giraffe is far and away the tastiest meat, followed by lion.

Related: On World Lion Day One of Cecil's Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride's Protector

We're investigating Sweden's anti-immigration group of right-wing hunters on Wednesday June 22, the day before Britain votes on Brexit, their decision about whether or not England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales will remain in the European Union.

It seems that there exists a strong right-wing connection among big-game hunting,  anti-immigration views and gun control. After the terrorist, hate-crime assassinations in Orlando, the world is focused on the intersections of these important topics: a reality that affects all of us on every continent.

Big Game Hunting From Girafffes To Jo Cox To Orlando

Ironically, today June 22 would have been British MP's Jo Cox's 42 birthday. Cox, who was brutally assassinated last week -- most likely because of her strong progressive, political views which embraced immigration -- was eulogized by her husband Brendan Cox, sole parent of their two children.

Related: A Brilliant, Bright British Political Star Jo Cox Was Assassinated Today AOC Women's News

Cox was shot and stabbed multple times in her local Yorkshire village, by Tommy Cox, who briefly appeared in court on Saturday, saying "Death to traitors, freedom for Britain."

"She cherished every moment... I remember so much about her but most of all I will remember that she met the world with love and both love for her children, love in her family and also love for people she didn't know.

"She just approached things with a spirit, she wasn't perfect at all you know, but she just wanted to make the world a better place, to contribute, and we love her very much."

Brendan Cox ruled out seeking the Labour nomination for her Batley and Spen constituency as a way of honoring her death. But he did say that he hoped she would be replaced by a woman, sharing his hopes that it would be "a lovely symbolism' if they become Labour's 100th female MP."

On World Lion Day One of Cecil's Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride's Protector

On World Lion Day One of Cecil’s Cubs Is Killed & Jericho May Be Gone As Pride’s Protector

Breaking news reports say that one of Cecil’s eight cubs has been killed by another male lion. Reports just published in the UK say:

“Lions practice infanticide – the male looking to take over and mate with the three lionesses would have crushed the cub’s skull as he looked to stake his claim.

“The lionesses fended off his advances but it is unlikely they can continue to protect the cubs for much longer.”

“Jericho has now taken over another pride and has been seen with other females,” a source at the park confirmed.

“We don’t know if Jericho would return to help the cubs if they were attacked again