It's dry season and elephants are desperately seeking water - but poachers lie in wait
By TONY RENNELL
29th June 2007
Daily Mail
Chad
Searching for water, the herd of elephants sweeps across the bush in central Africa. It is the dry season and they are desperately in need of water and food.
At this time of year they move in groups up to 800 strong, making a magnificent sight from the air.
A herd of elephants sweeps the plain looking for water
Then they find a waterhole on the Tinga river in Chad. Elephants appear on the edge of the bank, juveniles first, followed by a large female. They stand still, listening, until the female nudges one of the youngsters down the bank.
Thirty to 40 then follow, babies in tow. After slaking their thirst, they turn to dunking each other in the muddy water, wallowing, having fun. Just as quickly as they had come, they are gone, filing up the river bank and away.
All this was witnessed by J Michael Fay, a veteran ecologist who has walked across Africa (it took him 455 days) and flown over 70,000 miles of the continent in a small plane. He told readers of National Geographic magazine he had not been treated to such a dazzling social display by elephants for years.
Females and young slake their thirst
But beyond the joy was danger and despair. The elephants' quest for food would almost certainly take them outside the bounds of Zakouma park, a 1,200 square mile wildlife refuge for more than half a century. And there, poachers wait for them, eager for their ivory.
Thousands of elephants are shot by men on horseback.
Some, only wounded, flee to die a lingering death. One elephant Fay found, a huge bull, had eight bullet holes in his head. Fay said: "He had lived through civil wars and droughts, only to be killed for a few pounds of ivory to satisfy human vanity in some distant land."
The ivory ends up in cities such as Khartoum, where it is sold as sculptures and jewellery, or finds its way to Asia through the black market.
The elephants appear to have fun at the waterhole
There is little to stop the killing. The 88 armed guards who patrol the Zakoua reserve keep as tight a watch as they can but outside, the herds are cannon fodder.
The civil wars that bedevil the region are also a danger. Fighting is never far away. A pair of Mirage jets chasing retreating rebels buzzed the river and spooked the herds, just for fun.
The elephants are caught in the crossfire. If the poachers don't get them, the constant fighting, back and forth across this tortured land, will.
"The vast majority of elephants in this area don't die of old age," Fay observes sadly. "They die at the hand of man."
A member of an anti-poaching team who found a gorup of dead elephants holds up a tusk left behind by poachers
One of the dead elephants - its tusks removed
Back at the waterhole, Fay could only marvel "that these elephants, who spend their lives being hunted and killed by men, can find peace.
"How do they endure the terror and despair? Yet when I meet the Zakouma elephants, all I see is joy."
Unlike men, these giants exhibit no rage or thirst for revenge - just a desire to protect their young.
dailymail.co.uk
By TONY RENNELL
29th June 2007
Daily Mail
Chad
Searching for water, the herd of elephants sweeps across the bush in central Africa. It is the dry season and they are desperately in need of water and food.
At this time of year they move in groups up to 800 strong, making a magnificent sight from the air.
A herd of elephants sweeps the plain looking for water
Then they find a waterhole on the Tinga river in Chad. Elephants appear on the edge of the bank, juveniles first, followed by a large female. They stand still, listening, until the female nudges one of the youngsters down the bank.
Thirty to 40 then follow, babies in tow. After slaking their thirst, they turn to dunking each other in the muddy water, wallowing, having fun. Just as quickly as they had come, they are gone, filing up the river bank and away.
All this was witnessed by J Michael Fay, a veteran ecologist who has walked across Africa (it took him 455 days) and flown over 70,000 miles of the continent in a small plane. He told readers of National Geographic magazine he had not been treated to such a dazzling social display by elephants for years.
Females and young slake their thirst
But beyond the joy was danger and despair. The elephants' quest for food would almost certainly take them outside the bounds of Zakouma park, a 1,200 square mile wildlife refuge for more than half a century. And there, poachers wait for them, eager for their ivory.
Thousands of elephants are shot by men on horseback.
Some, only wounded, flee to die a lingering death. One elephant Fay found, a huge bull, had eight bullet holes in his head. Fay said: "He had lived through civil wars and droughts, only to be killed for a few pounds of ivory to satisfy human vanity in some distant land."
The ivory ends up in cities such as Khartoum, where it is sold as sculptures and jewellery, or finds its way to Asia through the black market.
The elephants appear to have fun at the waterhole
There is little to stop the killing. The 88 armed guards who patrol the Zakoua reserve keep as tight a watch as they can but outside, the herds are cannon fodder.
The civil wars that bedevil the region are also a danger. Fighting is never far away. A pair of Mirage jets chasing retreating rebels buzzed the river and spooked the herds, just for fun.
The elephants are caught in the crossfire. If the poachers don't get them, the constant fighting, back and forth across this tortured land, will.
"The vast majority of elephants in this area don't die of old age," Fay observes sadly. "They die at the hand of man."
A member of an anti-poaching team who found a gorup of dead elephants holds up a tusk left behind by poachers
One of the dead elephants - its tusks removed
Back at the waterhole, Fay could only marvel "that these elephants, who spend their lives being hunted and killed by men, can find peace.
"How do they endure the terror and despair? Yet when I meet the Zakouma elephants, all I see is joy."
Unlike men, these giants exhibit no rage or thirst for revenge - just a desire to protect their young.
dailymail.co.uk