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Ethiopia: Elephants Under Attack in Kafta-Shiraro Park
Addis Ababa

The Small Elephant Population in the Kafta-Shiraro Park in Tigray region, northern Ethiopia, is under attack from poachers who are bent on selling elephants tusks, Prof. Jeheskel Shoshani, a wildlife expert expressed concern.

Prof. Shoshani said that he counted about one hundred elephants in the area although residents say that their number could be as high as two hundred. He added that the area along the Tekeze river is endowed with many elephants but the encroaching human population poses a problem for the survival of the elephants.

There are nine isolated or protected elephant areas in Ethiopia. The illegal cultivation of sesame in the Kafta-Shiraro is a problem as it encroaches upon the habitat of the elephants, according to the professor.

The fact that the elephant population is fragmented throughout the world among areas where people live poses a serious problem for their survival, Prof. Shoshani argued.

Whenever poachers kill elephants with larger tusks, Prof. Shoshani said, the next generation of elephants will have lesser size task progressively.

Prof. Shoshani stressed that elephants are essential for maintaining eco-balance and their killings must be curbed.

He pointed out that last year Ethiopia was named as a model for protecting elephants. But he speculated that that status might be revoked following the killings of many elephants in the country.

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