As the world mourned Cecil the lion, five of Kenya’s endangered elephants were slain

[ashling]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/07/29/as-the-world-mourned-cecil-the-lion-five-of-kenyas-endangered-elephants-were-slain/?tid=sm_fb

Poachers killed five elephants in Tsavo West National Park on Monday night. The carcasses were recovered by rangers on Tuesday morning — what appeared to be an adult female and her four offspring, their tusks hacked off.

While the killing of the lion in Zimbabwe has attracted the world’s attention, the death of the five elephants has received almost no coverage, even though elephants are under a far greater threat from poachers than lions. Their tusks can be sold in Asia for more than $1,000 per pound.

...

In recent years, the poaching of elephants has increased exponentially because of the demand for ivory in Asia, where it's used for unproven medicinal purposes. Between 2010 and 2012, poachers killed more than 100,000 African elephants — a level of destruction that put the species on the road to extinction. Unlike many other animals, elephants mourn the death of their brethren, wrapping their trunks around the bones or carcasses of the deceased.

[geek tragedy]

1. what can we do about such evil? nt

[mucifer]

2. not to mention the suffering of millions of animals living in factory farms people call "food"

[DonCoquixote]

7. chicken and cows are not in danger of beign extinct

while these animals are.

[kwolf68]

3. This is very important

Cecil will be remembered, but the slaughter of elephants is another grave concern. East Asia is wreaking havoc on the natural world with demand for ivory trinkets and medicinal purposes. While I know comparisons to whaling, tiger poaching and elephant poaching will be juxtaposed to chickens in the US (also a concern), the fact is only if demand is eliminated will poaching.

[MBS]

4. horrible, and it's so senseless.

How can we stop the poaching? How can we stop the demand in Asia? How can we get people to see that tusks and rhino horns have zero medicinal purposes? How can we just get this to STOP before these animals go extinct because of human greed, short-sightedness and stupidity?

Even worse, this happened within the borders of a national park that is well-known and well-patrolled. Wouldn't it be nice if somehow the Kenyan government (and other African governments), and NGO's, and individual donors could work to help national parks increase their staffing.

But most of all the demand has to stop.
The US, and several African governments, have taken admirable steps to curtail the ivory trade and to destroy exported and imported ivory.
But as long as Asia insists on buying this stuff, there will be a problem.

[Mnemosyne]

5. Heartbreaking. Evil selfish asses. Argh!! Nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. kick