Study says elephant numbers plunged in Mozambique due to poachers, but Uganda numbers are up
JOHANNESBURG(AP) _ Conservationists say the elephant population in Mozambique has dropped nearly 50 per cent in the last five years because of poaching, but cite good news from Uganda, where the elephant population is increasing.
Poachers have slaughtered tens of thousands of African elephants in recent years to meet demand for ivory, particularly in China. Conservationists and governments have collaborated on an aerial, continent-wide census of elephants to better marshal efforts to protect wildlife.
The New York City-based Wildlife Conservation Society was involved in the Mozambique and Uganda counts.
The group said this week that the number of elephants in Mozambique had dropped from just over 20,000 five years ago to about 10,300. However, it says elephant numbers in Uganda have increased to more than 5,000 from fewer than 1,000 decades ago.
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Alwin Marshall-Squire is the Editor-in-Chief of S-Q Publications Inc., overseeing editorial strategy for GTA Weekly, GTA Today, and Vision Newspaper. He leads the publications’ mission to deliver bold, original journalism focused on the people and communities of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, and the global Caribbean diaspora.
Also writes for GTA Weekly and GTA Today.
