NBA star Yao Ming saw elephants and rhinos killed for ivory and horns; he later became a leading wildlife conservation campaigner in China

 

(Posted 07th September 2026)

 

Courtesy of African Elephant News

Times of India (India), September 5, 2026
Yao Ming had spent years being watched by millions of people, but nothing in his basketball career prepared him for what he encountered in Africa. In August 2012, the former NBA star travelled through Kenya and South Africa to see the impact of the illegal wildlife trade firsthand. He watched elephants in the wild, then came across the remains of five elephants killed by poachers.
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Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome is the founder and publisher of ATCNews, Eastern Africa’s leading aviation, tourism and conservation news blog of its kind. Wolfgang has nearly 50 years of experience in the tourism, aviation and conservation fields in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, covering all aspects of safari-, hotel- and air-operations. 

The Managing Editor of ATCNews is Mrs. Esther C. Goossens.

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