WINDOW SHOPPING ELEPHANT POISONED
The female elephant, recently risen to fame when pictures were published in the Uganda media about walking along the Katunguru roadside stores, was apparently poisoned and found dead. Local shop keepers are suspected to have had a hand in the elephant killing, robbing tourists of a magnificent attraction, being able to come fairly close to the unsuspecting animal. Named ‘Mary’ she was raised by Marcel Onen, erstwhile assistant to the founder of the Uganda Conservation Foundation Mike Keigwin.
A Uganda Wildlife Authority official not wishing to be named spoke off the record and had this to say: ‘this is a bad day for conservation in Uganda. UWA will be hunting those responsible and people in Katunguru who depend on tourism and the money brought to the community by foreign visitors, will help us to find the killers. This is not just poaching, this was a deliberate killing by someone who was not happy to see this elephant walk casually along the Katunguru road. Other law enforcement too is now involved and they are carrying out investigations. We expect the culprits to be identified soon and brought to justice.
Poaching for bush meat is prevalent in some parts bordering national parks in the North of the country but in the South West, where tourism is a major factor in local economy, poaching for trophies has reduced considerably although it remains a real threat to wildlife managers.
Mary the elephant was also often seen near the Mweya Safari Lodge where she equally entertained tourists with her trusting behaviour, seeking the close affinity of people.
6 Responses
Thanks Wolfgang for highlighting this totally unnecessary tragedy.
Despite our best efforts, ivory poaching and retaliatory killings of elephants are on the increase in Uganda. The Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF) works with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to try to protect elephants and sensitise local communities to the benefits of community conservation. However, the prevalent mindset is still simply to kill any animal that gets in your way. We won’t give up however: there are many dedicated men and women rangers who put thier lives on the line on a daily basis to protect wildlife; they need our support more than ever.
I can only encourage organizations like UCF to continue their struggle in highlighting the need for conservation and exposed poaching and who / what is behind it in Uganda. Thanks Charlotte for your kind words.
It was a real shame for the communities within the park to kill this darling elephant. I know sometimes it used to break into peoples houses looking for bananas. But this was a matter of educating these communities. UWA should think about it.