According to a March 13 report on the Christian Science Monitor, 28 elephants were killed by poachers in Cameroon, further depleting Africa’s population of forest elephants. During the last decade, the population was depleted by 62 percent, leaving only an estimated 2000 forest elephants in Africa.
Forest elephants are smaller than Africa’s savannah elephants, and their tusks are straighter. Unless immediate action is taken, Africa’s forest elephants could be extinct.
These elephants were shot with automatic weapons and smuggled from Kenya to Thailand, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The ivory in the tusks is worth hundreds of dollars a kilogram on the black market.
Cameroon has deployed military helicopters and soldiers with night vision gear in an attempt to protect their parks and wildlife. A new program is coming on Animal Planet showing a military type response being made against rhino poachers in Africa. “Rhino Wars” will air on Thursday nights at 9 p.m.
To see a map of Africa showing where Cameroon is located, you can click here.
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