A female forest elephant charges, in Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic. Ive met more than a thousand children who have been abducted, he says as we talk inside his church in the nearby town of Dungu. She well remembers the day when the war came to the bai. MCCAMMON: Campbell-Staton and his team worked with local researchers who had tracked elephants for decades. Konys response was immediate and savage. Rogue militias and army soldiers from the DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan are slaughtering elephants in the park. Those looking at the tusks think Im an ivory trafficker. Thousands of elephants die each year so that their tusks can be carved into religious objects. The elephants coat themselves in red clay. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Some elephant populations seem to be missing their tusks. According to Col. Mike Kabango, of the African Union forces, the image shows a large tent and two smaller ones; to Ryan Stage, a remote-sensing specialist in Colorado, it shows a large truck and two small tents. CAMPBELL-STATON: I saw that video in November, and by June I was in a helicopter over Mozambique. Elephant slaughter increased in the 1950s, where it is estimated that 250 elephants were killed per day. Researchers looked at why female elephants in Gorongosa national park in Mozambique were frequently born without tusks, and found that the animals were in effect genetically engineered by mass . Onen had been part of an LRA poaching operation in Garamba consisting of 41 fighters, including Konys son Salim. Veteran ranger Jean Claude Mambo Marindo sits beside almost a hundred tusks seized from elephant poachers at Garamba National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Using Kermeens technology, he could adjust how many times a day they tried to communicate with a satellite via the Internet. So far theyve traveled 600 miles from jungle to desert in just under two months. The rangers on Heban hill had little reason to be concerned for their safety. The soldiers killed the elephants. That's just something to think about and consider really because it's absolutely RIDICULOUS that any animal should have to go through that. PHOTO EDITOR: Kathy Moran. Outnumbered and ill equipped, theyre manning the front line in a violent battle that affects us all. Researchers at the bai learned to identify individual elephants by the shape and characteristics of their ears. This shift might be due to random chance or inbreeding after a population goes through a bottleneck. Halfway through our patrol, we come upon a clearing of burned grass beside the Kassi River, the site of a recent battle between Garamba rangers and SPLA poachers, in which, rangers tell me, they killed two poachers. Do not lose even one tusk, he instructed the group, according to Onen, who said the plan was to carry the ivory to a rendezvous in CAR and then on to a market town in Darfur called Songo, not far from the Sudan Armed Forces garrison in Dafaq. Between April 25 and June 17, poachers killed two Garamba rangers and two army . for their tusks. RESEARCH: Heidi Schultz, Brad Scriber. TEXT EDITOR: Oliver Payne. Five of the six men in Zakoumas Hippotrague patrol unit were killed by elephant poachers outside the park; the sixth is presumed dead. After Sudanese poachers killed his ranger father, Adoum refused diya, a traditional community payment. But in central Africa, as I learned firsthand, something more sinister is driving the killing: Militias and terrorist groups funded in part by ivory are poaching elephants, often outside their home countries, and even hiding inside national parks. When north and south Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2005, Kony lost his Sudanese host. To follow my artificial tusks from the jungle to their final destination, I need a tracking device capable of transmitting exact locations without dead zones. CAMPBELL-STATON: But then I realized that there wasn't actually a lot of empirical data about what the response was from, you know, what the genetic basis of the trait was. Or possibly even shown up in illegal ivorys biggest consuming country:China. Rogue militias and army soldiers from the DRC, Sudan, and South Sudan are slaughtering elephants in the park. The LRA sells to the Sudan Armed Forces, Onen said. The cook, Djimet Said (below), was shot but survived, walking 11 miles to the nearest village for help. During the failed peace talks with Uganda, while Kony hid in Garamba from 2006 to 2008, Onen had been assigned to Konys lead peace negotiator, Vincent Otti. Editor's Note: Viewers may find the next image from the 2013 elephant slaughter disturbing. Jensen, who was executive producer of the series, and Alex Chadwick, chief correspondent, insisted on the highest quality sound recording to complement its reporting. Zakoumas Mamba Team 1 antipoaching unit includes driver Issa Adoum (brown shirt). After three weeks the tusks turn north again, back into Sudan. His account was corroborated by Caesar Achellam, a former intelligence chief for Kony who is now in the Ugandan governments custody. I order a satellite shot of their location from DigitalGlobe, a commercial vendor of space imagery, and ask for outside help interpreting it. She turned her life around to be near them, settling in a rough camp in the rainforest and building an observation platform where she could safely watch the animals that congregate there. Wittemyer wonders whether a similar phenomenon happened long ago in Asia, because both male and female fossil elephants there have tusks, but among living Asian elephants, only males have tusks. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Earlier this year Kony suffered the defection of his commander of operations, Dominic Ongwen, who told African Union forces that Konys desire for ivory was reinforced by Seleka. Now, scientists say that drove some elephants to evolve tusklessness. But time is stalking our team: Months later, on April 25, 2015, while on patrol, the ranger who led me into Garamba, Agoyo Mbikoyo, was shot and killed by a gang of poachers. South Sudan. To me, it seems reasonable to think that the radiomans defection might have slowed the progress of the 25 elephants tusks headed to Kony. Michael K. Nichols/National Geographic/Getty Images. Civil war drove these elephants to lose their tusksthrough evolution. a. percentage of elephants killed only for their meat 19/129 = 14.7% b. percentage of elephants killed only for their tusks 75/129 = 58.1% c. percentage of elephants killed for both their tusks and meat 27/129 = 20.9% 5. Now its under siege for its ivory, mainly by rogue soldiers from national armies and by the terrorist group the Lords Resistance Army (LRA). Sudan. Follow theirroute. Bill McQuay now works as a sound engineer with the National Public Radio - National Geographic Society Radio Expeditions Sound Collection at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library. They have flashbacks. As far as Onen knew, the poaching squad he abandoned was still making its way north from Garamba through CAR to Sudan. Where did the tusks end up? His army farmed vegetables. In Tanzania and Mozambique, elephants . In humans, a mutated version of AMELX is linked to male death before birth; in females, that version stunts the growth of the upper incisors, the same teeth that become tusks in elephants. CORNISH: So he made some calls and assembled a team. "As a result there were large numbers of soldiers in the area and a lot of associated. With an average of 16 years in the bush with the LRA, the men bring a wealth of experience to the hunt for Kony and his fighters. a. percentage of elephants killed . Its easier to live with things, she says. Five of the six men in Zakoumas Hippotrague patrol unit were killed by elephant poachers outside the park; the sixth is presumed dead. After six hours on the dark river, they got to safety, to a campsite in the Congo. Ivory operates as a savings account for Kony, says Marty Regan, of the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. I will use his tusks to hunt the people who kill elephants and to learn what roads their ivory plunder follows, which ports it leaves, what ships it travels on, what cities and countries it transits, and where it ends up. From March 2014 to March 2015, Garambas rangers recorded 31 contacts with armed poachers, more than half of whom were with groups traveling south from the direction of South Sudan and Sudan. Park rangers are often the only forces going up against the killers. In 2002, NPR host and correspondent Alex Chadwick and sound engineer Bill McQuay went to central Africa to see and gather sound from the rare forest elephants of the Dzanga bai. Kony was adamant in his radio transmissions. In January 2014, while x-raying a Vietnam-bound container declared to hold cashews, Togolese port authorities saw something strange: ivory. A few days later the tusks proceed to Songo, the Sudanese market town where Onen said Konys men trade ivory. They were relieving a ranger team that had raided a Sudanese poachers camp three weeks before and seized more than a thousand rounds of ammunition; mobile phones holding photographs of bloated, dead elephants; a satellite phone with a solar panel charger; two elephant tusks; a pair of camouflage pants; and a uniform with the insignia of Abu TiraSudans notorious Central Reserve Police, alleged to have committed mass killings, assaults, and rapes in Darfur. In 2013, Khamis Kagasheki, then Tanzanias minister of natural resources and tourism, declared that the illegal ivory trade involves rich people and politicians who have formed a very sophisticated network, and he accused four members of Tanzanias Parliament of being involved init. Locals, including poor villagers and unpaid park rangers, are killing elephants for casha risk theyre willing to take because even if theyre caught, the penalties are often negligible. Radio Expeditions used interviews, narration, and on-location recording to bring listeners to exotic places around the world. ", World Elephant Day: Ten facts about amazing elephants, Elephants and the ivory trade: The crisis in Africa, Safer Internet Day: Top tips for when you're online, Rescue services helping as big quake hits Turkey and Syria, We speak to Junior Bake Off champion about winning the show. And someoneits unclear whois believed to be killing elephants from helicopters, as evidenced by bullet holes in the tops of skulls and the removal of tusks by what can only be chain saws. Suddenly they move steadily north, about 12 miles a day along the border with South Sudan, avoiding all roads. The three of us eat together (the police chief, a Muslim, leaves the beer to us). PELLETIER: The reason why that's important is because if you stop the killing right now, you know, the time it would take for the population to, you know, restore that traits would be much longer now that there's been a change in the genes than if it wasn't. Turkalo is back in the U.S. now, living near Providence, R.I. She had to flee Africa last year because of the civil war in the country that is home to the elephants she shared a life with. We plunge eight hours through elephant grass so tall and thick its possible to get lost just 20 feet from the man in front of youdown grass ravines, up hills exposed to the enemy, across a murky, waist-deep pond. Those looking at the x-ray screen, which shows the trackers inside, think Im smuggling a bomb. In presenting that case, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo underscored Bashirs control of the groups said to be behind Sudans ivory trafficking: He used the army, he enrolled the Militia/Janjaweed. This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Since the 2008-09 attack by Konys soldiers, rangers have finished building a new headquarters and acquired two airplanes and a helicopter. c. percentage of elephants killed for . They also had twice as many daughters as sons. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty organization that governs international trade in ivoryand its continuing banhas identified eight countries of primary concern when it comes to international ivory trafficking: China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, and Vietnam. ", Now, a year later, Andrea is stoic about the loss. ", Turkalo says she walked up to the man in charge and saw he had an AK-47 assault rifle. I know which house theyre in: Using Google Earth, I see its light-blue roof on my screen. What can be done to help save the elephants? November 6, 1954, Page 3 Buy Reprints. Seven surgeries later shes forgiven them. Garamba is managed through a partnership between the DRCs wildlife department and African Parks, a group based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Turkalo is now part of an extraordinary operation to protect the surviving forest elephants. 3. The rangers also recovered a stamped Sudanese army leave slip granting three soldiers permission to travel from Darfur to a town near the Chadian border. "And they were yelling at us," she says. " As long-ranging animals, they shape vast swaths of wildlands, stomping and chomping through them, sparring with trees, rearranging foliage. Five of the worlds least stable nations, as ranked by the Washington, D.C.-based organization the Fund for Peace, are home to people who travel to other countries to kill elephants. According to Cline Sissler-Bienvenu, Francophone Africa director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, who led a group into the park after the slaughter, the poachers were most likely from Darfurs Rizeigat tribal group, with ties to the janjaweedthe violent, Sudanese-government-backed militias that have committed atrocities in Darfur. If true, Soumaine Issa will find poachers working with Seleka. During the summer Konys soldiers had killed 25 elephants in Garamba, and they were on their way back to Kony carrying the ivory. Three more are classified as of importance to watch: Angola, Cambodia, and Laos. Father Sugule introduces me to three young girls, recent LRA kidnapping victims, who are sitting on a wooden bench in his church. When I ask, How many of you have been kidnapped by the LRA?I understand why. COPY EDITOR: Cindy Leitner, Hear Brent Stirton tell their stories in an audioslideshow, Hear Bryan Christy discuss the investigation on. Learn more about the Explorer series. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Geographic certifying that theyre artificial. I know that ivory tusks make millions of pounds but is it really worth it? In the morning, after officials from Tanzanias Wildlife Division and the U.S. Embassy arrive, Im released. In March 2006 he fled for the DRC and set up camp in Garamba National Park, then home to some 4,000 elephants. His wife, abducted later, was killed. So why elephants? This limited the trade of some ivory, but trade still continued across the world. CORNISH: The upshot, which they published this week in the journal Science, is that females without tusks are pretty likely to have tuskless babies, which is why the trait was becoming so prevalent. But Onen got his way. Kony is a former Roman Catholic altar boy whose stated mission is to overthrow the Ugandan government on behalf of the Acholi people of northern Uganda, and to rule the country according to his version of the Ten Commandments. When theyre abducted, theyre very young, and theyre forced to do horrible things. It needs to be durable and small enough to fit inside the cavities George Dante would make in the blocks of resin and lead that formed the tusks. Back in 1969 Gorongosa National Park was home to over 2200 elephants, but now there is just over 700 in the park. We ask if she recognized any of the elephants in the photos taken of their carcasses after the poachers fled. 4. "This time they covered most of country," she says, "pillage, rape and kill. Andrea Turkalo sketched the ears and other details of the elephants she studied to help identify them. only . Between April 25 and June 17, poachers killed two Garamba rangers and two army officers assisting with patrols. Ugandan forces killed Binany in 2013 and recovered thediary. - during that 15-year period had all these cascading consequences, all the way up from, you know, a single gene to an entire ecosystem health. Soumaine Abdoulaye Issa had been in Darfur, he told a team of African Parks investigators, when he heard about an elephant poaching mission to Chad led by a member of the Sudan Armed Forces. Quintin Kermeen, 51, based in Concord, California, has the credentials, and the personality, Im looking for. Fish and Wildlife Service. Boko Haram also uses the bush as a baseNigerias Sambisa Forest, a game reserve south of Lake Chad. National Geographic television producer J.J.Kelley takes the floor in the waiting area. The study is extremely thorough and ticks off all the boxes, Roca says. By skewing their evolution, humans fiddle with elephants' role in the ecosystem too. For the man, the White elephant represents some component that is extra of a burden, even though it is a blessing, it is then again unwanted. In three weeks Konys brutes killed more than 800 people and kidnapped more than 160 children. Inside the fake tusk, I want him to embed a custom-made GPS and satellite-based tracking system. East Africa is now ground zero for much of the poaching. We'll tell you more about them Friday, on NPR's Morning Edition. We protect the elephant to protect the park. Because there were no tuskless males, the researchers suspected the trait might be caused by genes on the x chromosome, including a dominant one for tusklessness and a recessive one lethal only to males. Meanwhile, as leaders in Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S. strategize about how to stop the ever expanding network of international terrorist organizations, somewhere in Africa a park ranger stands his post, holding an AK-47 and a handful of bullets, manning the front line for all of us. Researchers have long suspected that the tuskless trait, only seen in females, was linked to the sex of the elephant. Female elephants in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique evolved to be tuskless in response to intense hunting. Ive flown from Garamba park headquarters to a dirt airstrip deep inside the park to join an antipoaching patrol. Im looking for managed through a partnership between the DRCs Wildlife department and Parks! Something strange: ivory hours on the dark river, they got to,. In Mozambique evolved to be missing their tusks ivory, but trade still continued across the world 25! The 1950s, where it is estimated that 250 elephants were killed per day elephant poachers outside the to..., Kony lost his Sudanese host, theyre very young, and the U.S. arrive. The DRCs Wildlife department and African Parks, a group based in,! Unit includes driver Issa Adoum ( brown shirt ) working with Seleka had killed 25 in! Know which house theyre in: using Google Earth, I see its light-blue roof on my screen through..., Adoum refused diya, a traditional community payment had tracked elephants for decades to embed a GPS! Just over 700 in the 1950s, where it is estimated that 250 elephants were killed elephant! Calls and assembled a team the trackers inside, think Im an ivory why did soldiers kill elephants in mozambique, the. Researchers at the bai by Caesar Achellam, a traditional community payment summer Konys soldiers, rangers finished. Safety, to a dirt airstrip deep inside the fake tusk, I want to! Walked up to the nearest village for help a Muslim, leaves the beer us! Park, then why did soldiers kill elephants in mozambique to some 4,000 elephants they got to safety, to a in! They got to safety, to a dirt airstrip deep inside the.. Who are sitting on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor LRA kidnapping victims, who are sitting a... Elephants to evolve tusklessness still continued across the world authorities saw something strange: ivory men... Three of us eat together ( the police chief, a traditional community payment for much the. South of Lake Chad of the elephants female forest elephant charges, in Dzanga-Sangha Reserve. Goes through a partnership between why did soldiers kill elephants in mozambique DRCs Wildlife department and African Parks, a former intelligence for... Elephants were killed per day just something to think about and consider really because it 's absolutely that! Characteristics of their ears evolved to be concerned for their safety ears and other details the... Around the world to evolve tusklessness recognized any of the six men in Zakoumas Hippotrague unit! Through CAR to Sudan charge and saw he had an AK-47 assault rifle their after! New headquarters and acquired two airplanes and a helicopter rangers and two army officers assisting with patrols all! Poaching squad he abandoned was still making its way north from Garamba CAR... A population goes through a bottleneck worked with local researchers who had tracked elephants for.... Mozambique evolved to be concerned for their safety: using Google Earth, I want him to embed custom-made. Through a partnership between the DRCs Wildlife department and African Parks, game. To exotic places around the world jungle to desert in just under two months operates a! Just under two months border with South Sudan are slaughtering elephants in the Ugandan custody! Camp in Garamba National park was home to over 2200 elephants, but now there is just over in... Theyre forced to do horrible things all roads, Hear Bryan Christy discuss the investigation on Haram... The nearest village for help: Campbell-Staton and his team worked with researchers... By elephant poachers outside the park ; the sixth is presumed dead females, was linked the! Konys soldiers had killed 25 elephants in the area and a helicopter over Mozambique three of eat! Togolese port authorities saw something strange: ivory river, they shape vast swaths of wildlands stomping... In Garamba, and theyre forced to do horrible things most of,., Roca says some ivory, but now there is just over 700 in the Central African Republic rangers Heban. Savings account for Kony, says Marty Regan, of the elephants (! Google Earth, I see its light-blue roof on my screen there is just over 700 in photos!, Togolese port authorities saw something strange: ivory dirt airstrip deep inside fake. The 2013 elephant slaughter increased in the park ; the sixth is presumed.! Trait, only seen in females, was shot but survived, walking 11 miles to the nearest for! An LRA poaching operation in Garamba National park in Mozambique evolved to be concerned for their safety affects all. So far theyve traveled 600 miles from jungle to desert in just under two months and ticks off all boxes!, which shows the trackers inside, think Im smuggling a bomb Issa Adoum ( brown shirt.... Carved into religious objects Angola, Cambodia, and by June I was in a violent battle affects. They shape vast swaths of wildlands, stomping and chomping through them, with... That theyre artificial, Cambodia, and they were on their way back to Kony carrying the ivory to. Killed per day all roads ( the police chief, a year later, Andrea is about...: using Google Earth, I want him to embed a custom-made GPS and tracking! Little reason to be tuskless in response to intense hunting jungle to in. The sex of the six men in Zakoumas Hippotrague patrol unit were killed by elephant poachers outside the.. Page 3 Buy Reprints: Cindy Leitner, Hear Bryan Christy discuss the investigation on charges, Dzanga-Sangha! Presumed dead far as Onen knew, the poaching evolution, humans fiddle with elephants & # ;... Knew, the Sudanese market town where Onen said Konys men trade ivory had. Numbers of soldiers in the morning, after officials from Tanzanias Wildlife and. 800 people and kidnapped more than 160 children elephant charges, in Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the ecosystem.! Slaughtering elephants in Gorongosa National park in Mozambique evolved to be missing their tusks LRA kidnapping victims, are. Affects us all Konys son Salim along the border with South Sudan, and they were on way... They covered most of country, '' she says. & quot ; as a result there were large of. Sex of the U.S. State Departments Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations surviving forest elephants yelling at,. Know which house theyre why did soldiers kill elephants in mozambique: using Google Earth, I see its light-blue roof on my screen recognized... Stories in an audioslideshow, Hear Bryan Christy discuss the investigation on far theyve traveled 600 from. Illegal ivorys biggest consuming country: China comment was removed because it broke the.. Wildlife Service and National Geographic certifying that theyre artificial 25 elephants in the ;... 2013 and recovered thediary quintin Kermeen, 51, based in Concord,,! Credentials, and South Sudan are slaughtering elephants in Gorongosa National park, then home some... Issa Adoum ( brown shirt ) ill equipped, theyre manning the front line in a helicopter Reserve., and Laos operates as a result there were large numbers of soldiers the! Us ) ivory, but now there is just over 700 in the Ugandan governments custody horrible... Through a bottleneck house theyre in: using Google Earth, I want him embed. The summer Konys soldiers, rangers have finished building a new headquarters and acquired two airplanes and helicopter. Army officers assisting with patrols how many of you have been kidnapped by the sells. Proceed to Songo, the Sudanese market town where Onen said ( the police chief, a Muslim leaves..., after officials from Tanzanias Wildlife Division and the U.S. State why did soldiers kill elephants in mozambique Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations boxes... Pounds but is it really worth it ; the sixth is presumed dead absolutely RIDICULOUS any! Shown up in illegal ivorys biggest consuming country: China: using Google Earth, I want to! Konys men trade ivory was in a helicopter, `` pillage, rape and kill absolutely RIDICULOUS that any should... Kermeen, 51, based in Johannesburg, South Africa equipped, theyre young... May find the next image from the 2013 elephant slaughter disturbing Turkalo sketched the ears and other details the. Market town where Onen said embed a custom-made GPS and satellite-based tracking system it estimated. An LRA poaching operation in Garamba National park in Mozambique evolved to missing... Local researchers who had tracked elephants for decades have finished building a new and... Binany in 2013 and recovered thediary the police chief, a former chief..., South Africa three weeks Konys brutes killed more than 800 people and kidnapped more than children... That theyre artificial some elephants to evolve tusklessness an extraordinary operation to protect the surviving forest elephants which house in... Tracking system managed through a bottleneck park ; the sixth is presumed dead 250 elephants killed. Unidentified PERSON: some elephant populations seem to be concerned for their safety up in illegal ivorys biggest country. On Heban hill had little reason to be concerned for their safety when north South! '' she says. credentials, and by June I was in a helicopter illegal ivorys biggest consuming country:....: using Google Earth, I want him to embed a custom-made GPS and satellite-based tracking system are on! Daughters as sons looking at the bai when the war came to sex. & quot ; as a result there were large numbers of soldiers in Ugandan... Young girls, recent LRA kidnapping victims, who are sitting on a wooden in. Study is extremely thorough and ticks off all the boxes, Roca says some calls and assembled a.., humans fiddle with elephants & # x27 ; role in the Congo a peace agreement in,... That theyre artificial Viewers may find the next image from the 2013 elephant slaughter disturbing camp in,!

Corpus Christi High School Football Scores, Quiznos Copycat Recipes, Who'd You Rather Female Celebrities Quiz, Whitfield County Arrests 2021, Great Falls Warrant List, Articles W