Half of Mozambique's elephants exterminated in only 5 yrs

29 maggio 2015

2 min di lettura

(AGI) Maputo, May 29 - Elephants are on the verge of extinctionin Mozambique. This is the finding of a study conducted by thegovernment in collaboration with the Wildlife ConservationSociety (WCS) according to which the number of these largemammals has halved, from 20,000 to 10,300, in just five years,from 2010 to 2014. The study also confirms whatenvironmental organisations have been saying for years: thatruthless poachers are fighting for their tusks in an attempt tohoard their precious ivory. Survey results reveal that 95percent of the animals killed lived in the north of thecountry, especially in Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces.Despite Mozambique's national reserves, the area is not wellcontrolled by the government and is characterised by a highlevel of corruption, reported the WCS. In this area, the numberof elephants has dropped from approximately 15,400 to 6,100.The most affected area is that of the Niassa National Reserve:approximately 12,000 elephants were surveyed in 2012, whichhave dropped to 4,440 this year. In the Quirimbas NationalPark, in the Cabo Delgado province, the population of elephantshas fallen to slightly over 600 specimens. The areas in theTete province, in the central region, in the Limpopo NationalPark - where poachers have already exterminated all therhinoceros - and in the southern region, have all recorded a 20percent drop in the total number of elephants. Morespecifically, Tete province reported a total of approximately1,600 elephants and the Limpopo National Park just 1,100. Mozambique only began to combat widespread poaching a year ago.Recent surveys report that rhinoceros are already extinct inMozambique and we hope this is not also true for elephants.(AGI) . .