Wednesday 2 March 2016

Poachers poison an elephant and hundreds of other animals in Kruger National Park

Rangers in the Kruger National Park have found an elephant carcass, 110 dead white-backed vultures, two male lions and two black-backed jackals killed by wildlife poisoning on the 27th of February.

The elephant's body was found with gun shots to its head. The tusks had been removed and then its carcass was laced with poison.. Scavengers in the vicinity of the elephant  were poisoned after feeding from  the remains.

This type of poaching is the very worst, if you can categorise it. It is indiscriminate in a similar manner to the use of snares, but acts on so many other creatures in the food chain.  The poachers use the poison, usually cyanide, to kill off vultures which may alert rangers to their recent whereabouts away by circling overhead.

This technique is more common in Mozambique and Zimbabwe, where there have been several incidents off mass deaths in recent months.


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