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Poachers Kill World’s Only White Female Giraffe And Her Calf In Kenya

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BY : LUCY CONNOLLY 

Poachers Kill World’s Only White Female Giraffe And Her Calf In Kenya

An extremely rare white female giraffe has been killed by poachers in Kenya, along with her calf.

According to conservationists, rangers found the bodies of the female and her calf in a village in north-eastern Kenya’s Garissa County.

One other white giraffe, a male birthed by the late mother, is still alive and is thought to be the only remaining white giraffe in the world.

Poachers Kill World’s Only White Female Giraffe

The death of the two giraffes was confirmed by Garissa County Conservation Center in a press release posted to social media on Tuesday, March 10.

The statement said, according to ‘images sent in by the community’, the body of the mother giraffe was ‘in a skeletal state after being killed by armed poachers’.

Mohammed Ahmednoor, the manager of Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy, said:

This is a very sad day for the community of Ijara and Kenya as a whole. We are the only community in the world who are custodians of the white giraffe.

Its killing is a blow to tremendous steps taken by the community to conserve rare and unique species, and a wake up call for continued support to conservation efforts.

This is a long term loss given that genetics studies and research which were significant investment into the area by researchers, has now gone to the drain.

Poachers Kill World’s Only White Female Giraffe - Northern Rangelands Trus

SAD NEWS : Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy in Garissa County loses two famous white giraffes (the only female giraffe and her calf) to poachers.For more information, here’s the press release. Kenya Wildlife Service KWCA USAID Kenya European Union in Kenya Embassy of Denmark in Kenya and Somalia Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi The Nature Conservancy in Africa Conservation International, Africa Field Division

Ahmednoor went on to say tourism will be affected as a result of the deaths, marking another loss to the area, as the white giraffe was a ‘big boost’ to the tourism industry.

The white giraffe made headlines in 2017 after its discovery, with its unique white appearance a result of a condition known as leucism, which causes partial loss of pigmentation in an animal.

Unlike Albinism, animals with leucism continue to produce some dark pigment in their soft tissue, and so the giraffes’ eyes were dark in colour rather than red as typically seen in instances of albinism.

When the female white giraffe first made headlines, she was discovered alongside her calf. A second calf followed, and the family of three lived within the confines of the sanctuary.

Poachers Kill World’s Only White Female Giraffe - Ishaqbini-Hirola Community Conservancy

The body of the mother is thought to have been there for around three to four months and was found alongside that of her youngest calf, who seems to have died from hunger after the mother died, Newsweek was told.

Hopefully those responsible will be caught and brought to justice.

Source: Unilad

 

Rat poison a growing threat to peri-urban wildlife in Cape Town – UCT study

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Rat poison

Caracals living in or near vineyards had the highest exposure to rat poisons but the route to exposure is unclear. Picture: Phando Jikelo/African News Agency

Cape Town – Urban rat poisons are spilling over into Cape Town’s natural environment, threatening species such as caracal, mongoose, otter and owl, a team of University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers in the Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild) has discovered.

In their recent paper, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, the researchers found that anticoagulant rat poisons are infiltrating Cape Town’s peri-urban wildlife food chains. The study, believed to be the first of its kind, was conducted within and around Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park.

These animals already face challenges that include increasing habitat loss, vehicle collisions, poachers and fire, says lead author Dr Laurel Serieys, a postdoctoral research fellow at the iCWild.

They identified six predator species at risk: caracal, Cape clawless otter, Cape Eagle Owl, large spotted genet, honey badger and water mongoose. Others are likely affected as well.

The study measured the presence and concentration of rat poison compounds in liver and blood samples from 41 animals, with a special focus on caracal as part of the Urban Caracal Project (UCP). 

At 92%, exposure to rat poisons was highest for caracal. Overall, they found 81% exposure across seven species tested. The predators aren’t eating the poisons directly. Rather, the poisons are designed to work slowly in their target species, rats, who become sick over a period of days and end up as easy prey for predators.

“We detected at least one of the four most toxic rat poison compounds, all available in over-the-counter products, in six of the seven species tested,” says Dr Jacqueline Bishop, lead supervisor on the project. 

Caracals living in or near vineyards had the highest exposure to rat poisons but the route to exposure is unclear.

“Vineyards in Cape Town don’t use rat poisons to protect their vines, but they do host restaurants, spas and hotels and occur adjacent to dense residential areas where rat poisons are widely used. 

“Caracals regularly hunt in vineyards and it is here that they are likely to be exposed to poisoned rats, in and around urban structures,” she says.

The researchers focused their poison testing on caracal but were also able to opportunistically test several other species that had died after being hit by cars. The fact that these species use different habitats shows that rat poisons may profoundly impact many different species. 

“It also suggests, in the case of otters, that polluted water run-off from urban areas could transport the poisons into Cape Town’s waterways and the aquatic food chain,” says collaborator Dr Nicola Okes.

“There is mounting evidence globally that rat poisons are a critical threat to wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. 

“To really understand this problem locally has taken support from the public, from SANParks and the City of Cape Town in reporting the locations of animals hit by cars so they could be included in our study,” says Okes.

One of the most significant findings of the study is that exposure occurs at all ages. Several lactating female caracals were sampled in the study and found to be exposed to rat poisons, suggesting that kittens may be exposed through their mother’s milk. 

The UCP has grown into a large-scale research programme that sparks a lot of community interest. Members of the community can interface directly with the researchers and contribute to their work by reporting caracal sightings and learning about the project’s development through its Facebook page.

The project has also garnered international interest from researchers wanting to contribute to the research team’s efforts to identify the many threats to Cape Town’s caracals and strategise effective conservation of these elusive cats.

The researchers hope that their study’s findings will stimulate a dialogue on how to reduce environmental contamination by rat poisons and other toxins and help pinpoint directions for targeted mitigation.

“As consumers, we need more eco-friendly alternatives to rat poison and the simplest solution is well within everyone’s reach – improve the management of waste which attracts rats in the first place.”

Source: IOL

 

Kenya Announces Death Penalty for Poachers

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Image: Pixabay

Kenya is home to a number of iconic animals ranging from elephants and rhinoceros to giraffes, leopards and cheetahs. Elephants and rhinoceros are among the most threatened, as their tusks and horns make them prime targets to poachers. It’s illegal to kill the endangered animals in Kenya, and the Wildlife Conservation Act, put in place in 2013, carries a life sentence or fine of $200,000 for offenders.

However, according to Najib Balala, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, “This has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching.” As a result, a much harsher sentence has now been announced: poachers in Kenya will now face the death penalty. The measure has brought about both praise from those hopeful that the stiffer sentence will save the species at risk and backlash, from those opposed to capital punishment.

Large Herbivores in Kenya Continue To Be Killed by Poachers

Poaching in Kenya has been on the decline due to increased attention to conservation and wildlife law-enforcement efforts. Compared to 2012 and 2013, rhino poaching in the area has declined by 85 percent and elephant poaching by 78 percent.2 Still, the animals are in peril.

Black rhinos in Kenya number at under 1,000 whereas the elephant population is hovering around 34,000. And in 2017, nine rhinos and 69 elephants were killed by poachers, which is enough to “virtually cancel out the overall population’s growth rate,” the Save the Rhino organization told The Independent.

Elephants are an attractive target to poachers, as their ivory tusks are carved into jewelry, utensils, religious figurines and other trinkets in the Far East. According to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), up to 70 percent of illegal ivory ends up in China, where it sells for up to $1,000 a pound. China enacted a ban on ivory that took effect January 1, 2018, but black markets still remain. Rhino horns are also sought out by poachers, as the horns are believed to treat impotence, fever, cancer, hangovers and other medical ailments.

In reality, they do no such thing, as they’re made of keratin, the same thing your fingernails are made of. Still, rhino horns sell for close to $30,000 a pound, which is more than gold, which sells at about $22,000 a pound. According to AWF, “At current poaching rates, elephants, rhinos and other iconic African wildlife may be gone within our lifetime.”

Kenya Increases Wildlife Crime Prosecutors

Poaching in Africa is largely the result of organized crime syndicates, who, AWF states, “use high-powered technology and weaponry to track and kill many animals at once without being detected.” Night-vision goggles, grenade launchers, AK-47s, GPS and low-flying helicopters are all par for the course. In an effort to fight back, in addition to making poaching a crime punishable by the death penalty, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) plans to increase its number of wildlife crime prosecutors.

Currently, only two such prosecutors cover the entire country. But it’s hoped that the number will be increased to up to 14, allowing Kenya to ensure poaching criminals are appropriately prosecuted. The measure was made possible by a collaboration between Kenya’s national prosecution service and conservation organization Space for Giants.

“Not only can KWS catch wildlife criminals but now they have the capacity to ensure those criminals are convicted under Kenya’s robust laws,” Max Graham of Space for Giants told The Independent. “A ranger in the field should not have to experience the frustration of confronting a wildlife criminal they arrested a week earlier walking free again because of an acquittal. This is a critical step up in the battle against the illegal wildlife trade.”

Some animals, such as black rhinos, are so critically endangered that the remaining populations have been sent to sanctuaries, which are guarded by armed rangers. Some Kenyan rangers are also getting help from technology, including infrared and thermal cameras, both hand-held and strapped to their cars. The cameras allow rangers to spot body heat from poachers and animals nearly two miles away.

“In the past, we would never have found these people,” Brian Heath, a conservationist who runs conservation group the Mara Conservancy, told Wired. “Now the poachers are saying it’s just not worth going out, because the chance of getting caught is getting higher and higher. It has been a big deterrent.” In other areas, like South Africa where most rhinos live, dozens of rhinos have actually been airlifted out of poaching-prone areas and into safer locales, like Botswana, where poaching is rare.

WhatDoes the Future Hold for Endangered Rhinos and Elephants?

Aside from poaching, habitat loss is another threat faced by rhinos and elephants. Estimates suggest that these species and other large herbivores like hippopotamus only occupy about 19 percent of their historical ranges in Africa. These species require large expanses of land and have difficulty surviving in fragmented areas, but their habitats are being broken up by human encroachment, including the building of roads, livestock production, crop cultivation and civil unrest.

What would the world be like without elephants and rhinos? Hopefully we will never find out, but it would be a devastating loss, as both species provide valuable benefits to the environment. Elephants, for instance, disperse seed in their feces as they travel over long distances, while rhinos graze on large swatches of grass, helping to keep it short and increasing food access for impalas, wildebeests and zebra.

Through the excretion of urine and feces, elephants and rhinos also create patches of concentrated nutrients in the environment, benefitting the entire landscape. As for what the future holds, many are hopeful that Kenya’s strict stance against poaching will turn the area into a global conservation leader, helping to save these magnificent species. Efforts will need to be made across the continent, however, for lasting protection to occur, according to AWF:

“Across the continent’s diverse wild lands, management authorities need data-driven solutions to enhance anti-poaching capacity to allow remaining priority populations to recover from previous, and current, crises. Meanwhile, community-level interventions must explore different economic opportunities that secure rather than destroy biodiversity as pressure on natural resources grows with increasing development, infrastructure, and urbanization.”

Author:  Dr. Karen Shaw Becker