elephant

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Now a 2nd Country Will Cull Elephants to Feed Its People

Zimbabwe, Namibia both take the step

(Newser) - Zimbabwe will do what Namibia has done: It plans to cull 200 elephants to feed its people, who have been hit by an El Nino-triggered drought. The country last culled elephants in 1988, reports Reuters . "We are working on modalities on how we are going to do it,"...

After 40 Years, Former Circus Elephant Goes Back to the Wild

'Our dream is that at his own pace, Charlie will learn to be the elephant he was always meant to be'

(Newser) - After 40 years in captivity, a former circus elephant in South Africa is learning a new trick: living in the wild. Male elephants in the wild don't leave their mothers until they are teenagers, but Charlie was captured in Zimbabwe when he was just two years old. He was...

Tourist Exits Car to Take Photos, Is Killed by Elephants

The Spaniard died Sunday morning in a national park in South Africa

(Newser) - A 43-year-old tourist was trampled to death by elephants Sunday morning while attempting to take photos of them at a South African national park. The AP reports the Spaniard was with his fiancee and two other women at Pilanesberg National Park in North West province when officials there say he...

US Tourist Killed in Zambia Elephant Attack

It's the second such attack in the country this year

(Newser) - An American tourist was killed by an elephant in the Zambian city of Livingstone this week in the second such attack in the country this year, officials said. The officials said Friday that 64-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau was killed when an elephant that was part of a herd the tourists...

Largest Male Elephant in North America Is Euthanized
Largest Male Elephant in
North America Is Euthanized
in case you missed it

Largest Male Elephant in North America Is Euthanized

Tonka called Zoo Knoxville home for 43 years

(Newser) - Zoo Knoxville knew it would be saying goodbye to its last remaining elephant this year, but the farewell was much sadder than expected. The zoo said Thursday that it had euthanized Tonka, a 46-year-old bull elephant that had called the zoo home for the last 43 years. At 15,000...

Escaped Circus Elephant Goes Exploring in Montana Town

Viola the Asian elephant, spooked by a car backfire, was later reunited with her mate

(Newser) - An elephant literally wandered the streets of Butte, Montana, on Tuesday before she was returned to the circus from which she escaped. The pachyderm had quite the adventure, carefully treading across multi-lane roads, visiting the parking lot of a casino, leaving what NBC Montana calls "a surprise" on a...

US Woman's 'Dream Adventure' With Elephants Turns Fatal

Gail Mattson, 79, was killed when a bull elephant flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia

(Newser) - An American tourist on a safari tour of Zambia's Kafue National Park died Saturday when an elephant charged the vehicle carrying her. The woman, whom KSTP identifies as 79-year-old Gail Mattson of Minnesota and Arizona, was staying at Lufupa Camp and had ventured out with five others for a...

Botswana Is Irked by Germany's Elephant Suggestion

It offers to ship 20K animals to Germany so it can see what it's like living among them

(Newser) - A suggestion from Germany's Environment Ministry didn't go over so well in Botswana. President Mokgweetsi Masisi took issue with the ministry's recommendation that tighter limits be put in place on importing hunting trophies, saying that conservation efforts had led to a surging elephant population that hunting helped...

'World's Saddest Elephant' Dies After Decades of Isolation

Mali was the only elephant in the Philippines for decades

(Newser) - An elephant that animal rights activists called the "world's saddest" has died in Manila, where she was the only elephant in the zoo—and the country. Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna announced the death of the female Asian elephant on Wednesday, CBS News reports. Mali—short for Vishwa Ma'...

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?
Has Anyone
Seen Bruce?

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?

Liz Atkinson is 'completely desperate' to find stuffed elephant with late son's ashes, lost in Florida

(Newser) - "I am completely desperate and hoping this blows up and we find our elephant!" So begins a May 6 Facebook plea from Liz Atkinson, an ER nurse from Iowa who's doing all she can to find a stuffed animal that went missing during a family vacation in...

Court: Bronx Zoo Elephant 'Happy' Is Not a Person

2 judges on NY's top court disagreed with ruling on 'illegal confinement'

(Newser) - Happy the elephant may be intelligent and deserving of compassion, but she cannot be considered a person being illegally confined to the Bronx Zoo, New York’s top court ruled Tuesday. The 5-2 decision by the state Court of Appeals comes in a closely watched case that tested the boundaries...

Some Elephants Are Pooping Out Plastic Forks
Some Elephants Are
Turning Into Plastic Polluters
new study

Some Elephants Are Turning Into Plastic Polluters

Some consume plastic in dumps then excrete it in forests, study finds

(Newser) - Much has been written about humans' consumption of microplastics . Ditto on the impacts of plastic waste on our oceans . Now comes a report on the plastics—items a heck of a lot bigger than microplastics—that elephants eat and how deep into otherwise unspoiled forests they end up depositing it....

To Study Elephants in Mourning, Researchers Get Creative

It's the first scientific documentation of the behavior in Asian elephants, thanks to YouTube

(Newser) - Wildlife biologists used crowdsourced YouTube videos to compile the first scientific documentation of how Asian elephants react to death. It's not that they were afraid to go into the field to study them with their own eyes—the problem is that Asian elephants are jungle dwellers, which makes them...

Wandering Elephants Finally Seem Headed Back Home

Herd fascinated the world with 300-mile trek north

(Newser) - An elephant herd that fascinated locals and people around the world by making a yearlong journey into urbanized southwest China, raiding farms and even a retirement home for food, appears to be finally headed home. Local authorities have deployed trucks, workers, and drones to monitor the elephants, evacuated roads for...

Officials Scramble as City Is Warned: The Elephants Are Coming

Experts speculate inexperienced leader may have led herd 300 miles away from China nature reserve

(Newser) - A herd of 15 wild elephants that walked 300 miles from a nature reserve in China's mountainous southwest were approaching the major city of Kunming on Wednesday as authorities rushed to try to keep them out of populated areas. The group was 16 animals, but the government says two...

Video Emerges of 'Inept' Elephant Hunt by NRA's Chief

One critic calls shooting by Wayne LaPierre 'inept' and 'clumsy'

(Newser) - A video shot for an NRA-sponsored TV series was hidden from the world for nearly eight years—until now. The footage, obtained by the New Yorker and the Trace , shows CEO Wayne LaPierre and his wife, Susan, shooting two savanna elephants in Botswana in September 2013. (The elephants have since...

Quest for Photo With Zoo Elephant Ends With Dad's Arrest

Jose Manuel Navarrete faces child cruelty charges

(Newser) - A father’s quest for a memorable photograph during a visit to the San Diego Zoo ended with his arrest. Jose Manuel Navarrete, 25, on Friday bypassed multiple barriers to enter a habitat for Asian and African elephants while carrying his 2-year-old daughter, the AP reports. “You hear this...

Off-Duty Rescue Worker Saves Baby Elephant

He revived it with 10 minutes of CPR

(Newser) - Using CPR to try to revive a road accident victim is nothing new for Thai rescue worker Mana Srivate—but the victims aren't usually elephants. Mana, who has been a rescue worker for 26 years, was off duty Sunday night when he arrived at the accident scene while on...

'World's Loneliest Elephant' Arrives Safely at New Home

'The flight was uneventful, which is all you can ask for when you transfer an elephant'

(Newser) - The pachyderm dubbed the "world’s loneliest elephant" after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo was greeted on his arrival in Cambodia on Monday by chanting Buddhist monks and then sent on his way to a wildlife sanctuary. Like other travelers during these times, Kaavan needed to...

Here's Why Cher Just Rushed to Pakistan

Singer is there to celebrate departure of 'world's loneliest elephant' from Islamabad zoo

(Newser) - Iconic singer and actress Cher is in Pakistan to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant," who will soon leave a Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. Because of security concerns, Cher's schedule was...

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