Burmese Elephant Numbers Dropping Quickly - AP

[hatrack]

YANGON (AFP) - "Myanmar officials are concerned that illegal logging and hunting are threatening the country's wild elephant population despite the species being placed on the protected list a decade ago.

Land-clearing to sustain an increasing human population is also taking its toll on elephant numbers, according to the edition of the semi-official weekly, the Myanmar Times, to be published Monday. "It is quite evident that the wild elephant population is declining in Myanmar," forest department elephant expert Ye Htut was quoted as saying.

He said that despite the threat of heavy fines and up to seven years in jail hunters had continued killing elephants, upsetting the ratio of males to females in herds and leading to declines in the birth rate.

EDIT

Ye Htut did not indicate how far elephant numbers had fallen but said the department's Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division planned to build four elephant reserves within the next three years as at present there was only one. However, the paper said in the last several months the junta had allowed state and private logging companies to catch wild elephants in two areas near the capital Yangon on the grounds that they were coming into conflict with people in populated areas."

EDIT



Hmm . . . allow the deforestation of the whole fucking country, and elephant numbers decline - who knew?

[mmm]

1. We need to eliminate Repukes to make room for elephants

There seems to be an almost 100% correlation between
people who abuse 'animals' for profit and Republicans
(of course). I have only worked with sanctuary elephants,
those having invariably endured a life of continuous abuse as 'working' circus 'animals.'
When you treat an elephant like a good and trusted friend they
are gentle and tender-hearted and very very intelligent.
Intuitive like a tiger. We need more elephants and fewer people.