Endangered elephants poached in Cameroon

March 13, 2013

Endangered forest elephants who call the  Nki and Lobeke national parks of southeast Cameroon home, recently fell victim to poachers. 28 of an estimated 2,000 of these elephants left were killed. 

The World Wildlife Federation found 23 of these elephants between February 10 and March 1 in Nki national park. The remaining five were discovered in Lobeke national park. All of the elephants had their tusks removed. 

"The poachers used automatic weapons, such as AK-47s, reflecting the violent character of elephant poaching," said Zacharie Nzooh, WWF Cameroon representative in the East Region.

In December 2012, Cameroon deployed 600 soldiers in an attempt to protect Bouba Ndjida National Park, where the last large elephant killing occurred. Poachers attacked Bouba Ndjida on horseback and killed approximately 200 savannah elephants.

Forest elephants are smaller than savannah elephants and have straighter tusks. The demand for black market ivory increasingly puts them in danger. 

According to Nature World News, ivory sells for hundreds of dollars per kilogram. Measures are now being taken by Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to end Thailand's ivory market, the largest unregulated ivory market in the world.

Those interested in the endangered forest elephants can make calls to Cameroon using prepaid phone cards. 

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