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April 1997 |
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April 15, 1997
Hi Everybody!
Gift has a new baby!! Gift is the young orphaned elephant whose entire family was slaughtered by poachers, and who has been rearing Georgia, her first offspring, on her own. A few days ago she and Georgia strolled up to the marula trees, laden with ripe yellow fruits, that stand around our kitchen hut. Trundling along behind was a tiny infant with a rubber hose nose. Gift is building another family, and so far, her offspring are surviving, despite her inexperience at mothering. At an age when most elephants have yet to deliver their first born, Gift already has two. This is a good sign that the security provided the elephants by our Project, and by the CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) ivory ban, is working.
The village children are competing to name Gift's baby. The one chosen will win a safari to see the elephants in North Luangwa!
In June this year the UN member nations of CITES, including the USA, will vote on whether or not to continue the ivory ban. Incredibly, there is some question about whether the USA will support the ban. At the last CITES meeting the USA abstained rather than vote against South Africa's proposal to sell elephant skin and meat. The shooting of elephants is on the rise all over Africa as poachers speculate that the ban will be reversed, and that countries with stockpiled ivory will be allowed to sell it again. We have just lost our first elephant to poachers in more than 2-1/2 years. Please write to President Clinton or use the enclosed postcard to insist that the USA supports the ban. This WILL make a difference, so please write now.
| President Clinton The White House Washington, DC 20500 Email: <INTERNET:president@whitehouse.gov> |
In an attempt to defeat the ivory ban, Zimbabwe, which was recently caught illegally trading stockpiled ivory, has filled the press and the halls of Congress with grossly exaggerated tales of hoards of elephants trampling crops and killing villagers. While elephants do occasionally damage crops, they rarely kill people unless they are being harassed. The problem actually is one of human populations exploding into elephant areas, rather than the reverse. Even so, not every conflict need result in a dead elephant as the following report from our Community Development officer Hammer Simwinga illustrates:
For many, many years, due to heavy poaching, no elephants have been seen in the Mukungule Chiefdom, bordering the National Park on the west. The villagers have been yearning to see an elephant, so much that even a foot print would have been a good omen to them. Chief Mukungule, the oldest chief in Zambia, told his people how, a long time ago, elephant families passed through their villages, migrating from the valley to the plateau, and back again, using the same route each year. But the elders had a difficult time convincing the younger generation that the regular crossing of these great giants ever took place.
One night not long ago, the village lay quiet and still, all the cooking fires smoldering: A light rain passed just after midnight, and left water dripping from the thatched roofs. Suddenly, a rough tearing and groaning was heard. A loud thump sounded from behind the huts, as though a bag of maize had fallen from a tree. One farmer, Mr. Solomoni Mwansa, whispered to his wife: "as usual, the monkeys are after my bananas."
The next morning, Solomoni was amazed to find several of his banana and guava trees bent and twisted. Looking at the footprints he shouted, "Elephants! Elephants!" Soon he was surrounded by curious villagers. Solomoni proudly pointed to the prints of the forest giants. They followed them through the village, their excitement soaring. Soon the news had spread throughout Mukungule that the elephants had returned and the children would be able to see the great beasts for the first time. The elders quickly sent out the word that the elephants were to be protected by everyone in the village.
A few days later the elephants returned, this time just before dark. Almost everyone saw them, and their joy was full, for surely the ancestors were no longer angry with the Chiefdom. That night sakas throughout Mukungule were filled with people sharing their experiences of seeing the elephants. At the same time they praised the North Luangwa Conservation Project for helping wildlife officers rid their area of the poachers. And the women folk talked of small businesses, agricultural activities, and conservation education, all started by the Project. They are still talking of it, and of the elephants who have returned to their villages.
Despite having some of his crop damaged by elephants, Solomoni was so honored by the elephants' visit that he voluntarily moved his entire farm, including four fish ponds, just to give them safe passage during their migration next year. Even though he did not request it, our project has helped him get re-established. All of the villagers are looking forward to more elephants and other wildlife visiting them, and to the benefits of tourism.
The European Union, which is currently restructuring Zambia's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Services, has recently chosen our project as a model for integrated rural development in other threatened wilderness areas in Africa. So you see, by any standard of measure, NLCP is a resounding success and you are an integral part of that success. We could not have done this without you. Thank you for standing behind us.
Mark and Delia
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