One less tusker in Africa
This elephant, with “record” tusks was shot recently in Zimbabwe by an American hunter. It appears that the elephant came across the border from Mozambique where poachers had been setting a lot of fires.
It is doubtful, with the current USFWS moratorium on elephant hunting trophies placed on Zimbabwe and Tanzania, that this hunter will be able to place these tusks in his trophy room anytime soon. But that’s another matter.
The real concern is that this hunter shot one of the few remaining large bulls in a large area spanning Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Elephant biologists know these large bulls are very important in their populations as they are responsible for most of the breeding. That’s the real matter.
“Conservation hunting” of elephants should no longer be allowed not only because there are fewer and fewer elephants left in Africa, but also because scientific studies have shown that removing the prime breeding males from ANY population of wild animals has detrimental effects on reproduction and stability, and could have long-term effects on the rate of any future recovery.
It is high time that trophy hunters integrate some basic biological principles in their activities if there is any credence to be placed on their claims that hunting aids conservation. They claim to be only removing post-reproductive males from the population, but this is clearly nonsense. Trophy hunting means that hunters want the best trophies – meaning males in their prime.
Some sort of “control” has been placed on lion trophy hunting by some sort of “regulation” on the age of male lions that can be shot. Not only is that age completely misplaced thanks to a highly flawed computer model, but it makes no biological sense. A male lion aged 6yrs is in his prime, not an excess non-reproductive male.
Just like so many other “trophy” animals are in their prime – like this elephant.
At the end of the day it is not “just” the numbers of trophies taken by hunters that governs the impact they have on wildlife populations. It is also the great damage they do to population structure, social structure, reproductive consequences and indeed – the natural balance in hunted populations.
If African nations want to conserve their wildlife heritage, trophy hunting of a number of vulnerable species should go. It financially benefits the few and damages, in this case, remaining elephant populations for decades.
Picture credit: http://bit.ly/1saiv3E
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