The authority has revealed that the number of elephants lost to poachers has sharply declined in the last five years. Less than 10 elephants have been killed during the said period.
Intensified efforts to protect elephants from poaching are steadily bearing fruit in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA).
The authority has revealed that the number of elephants lost to poachers has sharply declined in the last five years. Less than 10 elephants have been killed during the said period.
The NCAA Director General, Dr Freddy Manongi said in an interview at the authority’s headquarters in Ngorongoro that most of the elephants, which survived poaching attempts have been seeking refuge in the crater, which is safer than its vicinity.
Dr Manongi said the authority is taking several measures to protect its elephant herds including fitting them with special collars to monitor their movements.
“This is an ongoing programme. We plan to fit in the special collars to leaders of the herds of elephants to monitor their movements as a way of protecting them from poachers,” he said.
According to him, efforts to end ivory trade and save the elephants would be in vain if powerful nations do not come up with foolproof strategies that will break its demand.
“The existence of the ivory trade chain depends very much on its demand,” Dr Manongi said, adding that as long as there is demand for the ivory products, poaching of elephants would continue.
Asked by journalists, who visited the NCAA under a programme organised by the Tanga Rural and Environmental Journalists Association (Taruja), the NCAA chief said he hoped that international efforts such as CITES and TRAFFIC would help minimise the problem.
TRAFFIC is a wildlife trade monitoring network and the leading non-governmental organisation working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
