{"id":38194,"date":"2024-05-03T09:25:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T07:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/d29b18b2-36cd-4baa-ab63-031ad2350b5c"},"modified":"2024-05-03T10:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T08:35:43","slug":"the-legal-killing-of-the-third-bull-elephant-in-six-months-in-tanzania-sparks-debate-over-trophy-hunting","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/the-legal-killing-of-the-third-bull-elephant-in-six-months-in-tanzania-sparks-debate-over-trophy-hunting\/","title":{"rendered":"The legal killing of the third bull elephant in six months in Tanzania sparks debate over trophy hunting"},"content":{"rendered":"

A large-tusked adult male elephant has recently been killed in Amboseli, Tanzania, marking the surprise ending of a 30-year moratorium between Kenya and Tanzania to protect the region’s migratory elephants. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 03 May 2024 at 07:25 AM<\/p>

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Amboseli\u2019s elephants are an iconic cross-border population that share an ecosystem covering parts of Tanzania, where trophy hunting is legal, and Kenya, where trophy hunting is banned.\u00a0The as-yet-unidentified bull is the third large-tusked adult male elephant, often referred to as \u2018tuskers\u2019, known to have been killed by trophy hunters since September 2023.\u00a0<\/p>

The killings mark the surprise ending of a 30-year moratorium between Kenya and Tanzania to protect Amboseli\u2019s migratory elephants.\u00a0<\/p>

A herd of elephants on the move in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

There are currently around 2,000 elephants living in the ecosystem, which includes Amboseli National Park and surrounding conservancies and lands in Kenya and the Enduimet Wildlife Management Area (EWMA) and other areas in Tanzania. <\/p>

Despite facing many challenges, including poaching, drought, habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict, the Amboseli elephants that roam the cross-border area have thrived in the three decades that the hunting ban has been honoured for, becoming international symbols of conservation success. There are 63 elephant families in the Amboseli population, of which 17 families, consisting of 365 members, regularly spend time in Tanzania.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Amboseli
There are 63 elephant families in the Amboseli population. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Amboseli population includes adult males with some of the largest tusks in Africa, due to the animals\u2019 genetic make-up and decades of protection from trophy hunting and poaching. The largest tusks ever collected and displayed in the British Museum come from this population. <\/p>

Approximately 30 adult male elephants over the age of 25 years use the Enduimet area and beyond in Tanzania as part of their home range. Enduimet is a favourite area for a set of adult males who use the area while \u2018bulking up\u2019 for their next reproductive period before returning to central Amboseli in search of mates.\u00a0<\/p>

Adult males with large tusks are a valuable target for trophy hunters. According to the Tanzania Wildlife Conservation Regulations 2015 (2019 amendment), fees to hunt an elephant range between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on the size of the tusks. Fees are split between government and community (in cases where hunts took place on community land). But hunting outfitters charge large premiums for clients to hunt \u2018tuskers\u2019, with\u00a0various sources, including Amboseli Trust for Elephants and Big Life Foundation,\u00a0<\/strong>indicating that hunters are prepared to pay $250,000-$350,000 (on top of other fees) to hunt a 100lb \u2018super-tusker\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>

Due to centuries of legal and illegal hunting for the ivory trade, there are thought to be as few as 50 so-called \u2018100-pounders\u2019 (elephants with at least one tusk that weighs 100 pounds) left in Africa, the majority in the Amboseli-Chyulu-Tsavo population that lives in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania\u2019s borderland region, many of which move between the two countries.\u00a0<\/p>

Rather than being \u201cdead wood\u201d, as is sometimes claimed, older bull elephants are the primary breeders in elephant society (according to Amboseli Trust for Elephants). Older, larger males are dominant to younger males. They also have longer musth (sexually active) periods and are preferred by females. By targeting older elephants, it\u2019s thought that hunters are negatively influencing the genetic future of the Amboseli population.<\/p>

Studies from wildlife organisations, such as Born Free,<\/strong>\u00a0have also shown elephants are more valuable alive. \u201cThe removal\u00a0of these older males with large tusks is a loss to the economy in a country such as Kenya,\u201d says Cynthia Moss, Director of Amboseli Trust for Elephants.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cTourists, photographers and filmmakers travel to Amboseli specifically to see the older males.\u00a0They are important breeders and repositories of knowledge and experience,\u00a0setting examples for the younger males. They\u2019re essential to a healthy elephant population.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

\"Cynthia
Cynthia Moss, Director of Amboseli Trust for Elephants says tuskers are “important breeders and repositories of knowledge and experience,\u00a0setting examples for the younger males. They\u2019re essential to a healthy elephant population.\u201d\u00a0Credit: Amboseli Trust for Elephants<\/figcaption><\/figure>

In 1995, a moratorium on trophy hunting of the cross-border elephant population was agreed between Kenya and Tanzania. This followed an international outcry in 1994, when four elephants were shot by trophy hunters on the Tanzanian side of the border. But\u00a0in September 2023, a large-tusked bull was hunted in Enduimet Wildlife Management Area (EWMA), a community-owned conservation area in northern Tanzania. The elephant was killed approximately 23.5km from the Kenya-Tanzania border. Each of the animal\u2019s tusks is believed to have weighed approximately 100 pounds (50kg), making this elephant a \u2018super-tusker\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>

Identifying elephants in such cases can be difficult, as their carcasses are often burnt by trophy hunting organisations.\u00a0But after obtaining a photo of the carcass (before it was burned) of the male that was killed in September, Cynthia Moss and Norah Njiraini (Assistant Director of the Amboseli Trust for Elephants)\u00a0used ear and skin patterns, which serve as a giant \u2018fingerprint\u2019 for elephants, to\u00a0identify the male as Gilgil, a well-known individual from the study population. At his death, he was 35 years old and would have been just entering his reproductive years.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Gilgil\"
Gilgil, photographed on 8 January 2018. Credit: Amboseli Trust for Elephants<\/figcaption><\/figure>

A second large-tusked elephant bull was killed by hunters in November 2023, this time on land owned by the Tanzania National Ranching Company Limited (NARCO), neighbouring the EWMA, approximately 36km from the Kenya-Tanzania border. The elephant\u2019s tusks are believed to be approximately 100 pounds each. The elephant has not been identified, and its carcass burnt and partially buried.\u00a0<\/p>

Reports started circulating in early March 2024 of a third hunted bull. While no carcass has yet been found, the EWMA has confirmed that a third elephant was hunted in the area in late February. There is no information available yet on the size of the elephant or its tusks, or exactly where it was killed.\u00a0<\/p>

The hunts for all three elephants were not illegal, though unconfirmed reports of one bull being \u2018pushed\u2019 into a hunting area would be a breach of the law.\u00a0<\/p>

\"Cynthia
Cynthia Moss undertaking research in Amboseli. Credit: Amboseli Trust for Elephants<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The issue of trophy hunting is hotly debated and complex, with many pro trophy hunting groups, communities and conservationists arguing that without the revenue it brings in, wildlife areas would be overtaken for agriculture or suffer from poaching.\u00a0<\/p>

For 51 years, the region\u2019s elephants have been studied by the Amboseli Elephant Research Project (AERP) – the longest, continuously running study of elephants in the world. Each elephant is individually known and has been photographically documented. As well as threatening Amboseli\u2019s elephant populations and the benefits they bring,\u00a0the recent trophy hunting incidents\u00a0<\/strong>risk jeopardising an important body of scientific knowledge.<\/p>

Tanzania\u2019s government was approached to comment on whether it plans to restore the 30-year moratorium and stop more of Amboseli\u2019s cross-border adult male elephants from being hunted.\u00a0\u201cMany Tanzanians, especially those involved in tourism and wildlife conservation, are understandably appalled\u00a0by the killing of these magnificent giant tuskers,\u201d says\u00a0Mbelwa Kairuki,\u00a0Tanzania\u2019s High Commissioner to the UK. \u201cThe government has been investigating each of the incidents and initial findings indicated no actual laws were broken.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cRegardless, it has brought\u00a0the subject of trophy hunting\u00a0into sharp focus. It is not as straightforward an issue\u00a0as it might first appear, with lobbyists on both sides presenting seemingly compelling arguments, based upon conservation and community impact, as well as income generation.\u00a0As Tanzanians,\u00a0we recognise how honoured we are to be the custodians of some of the world\u2019s most iconic wildlife and we feel compelled to protect them. How we do so is part of a huge debate, involving people from all walks of life.\u00a0This is a highly emotive subject, which we must endeavour to make a rational decision upon.\u201d<\/p>

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