14 DAY TRIAL // Only a few days ago, about 30 elephants were tracked down and killed by poachers in the southwestern regions of Chad, Central Africa. Conservationists claim that the animals were chased by armed horsemen.
According to SOS Elephants, an organization which works together with farmers and local authorities in order to put an end to poaching activities in Chad, the people who planned and carried out this massacre left behind 28 elephant carcasses, all of which were missing their tusks.
Because the poachers were only looking for ivory which they can later on illegally trade, one baby elephant managed to escape being killed.
Thus, three-week-old Toto is now nurtured by conservationists working with SOS Elephants.
Official reports regarding the elephant population in this part of the world indicate than, in just four years (from 2006 up until 2010), 1,500 such animals were killed in this country alone.
Mongabay informs us that Stephanie Vergniault from SOS Elephants explains how, but for immediate measures being taken against the poachers who roam these lands, “not a single elephant will be alive in Chad in three years time.”
As we previously discussed, the world's elephant population is indeed in dire need of help if this species is to not become extinct.
Thus, it seems that, besides the fact that adult elephants are killed for their tusks so as to supply the existing illegal ivory markets, baby elephants are also held captive in various areas across the world and used to entertain foreign visitors.
The good news is that, throughout the course of this week, several high officials and environmentalists are taking part in an international conference in Geneva, whose end-goal is precisely that of coming up with proper plans aimed at safeguarding several endangered species, amongst which elephants and rhinos.
Hopefully, something will soon be done to put an end to this “ivory mafia”.