elephants

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Plastic in Landfill Is Killing Elephants

Post-mortems showed no signs of a normal diet

(Newser) - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died in the past eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu...

Humans Are 'Literally Changing the Anatomy' of Elephants

Genetic mutation passes from tuskless females ignored by poachers in Mozambique

(Newser) - Human behavior is "literally changing the anatomy of animals," according to the author of a new study that finds decades of ivory poaching in Mozambique has encouraged the evolution of elephants without tusks . What was once a rare genetic mutation causing tusklessness in female elephants at Mozambique's...

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...

On an Island, Elephants Shrink Surprisingly Fast
On an Island, Elephants
Shrink Surprisingly Fast
new study
Jul 2, 2021 1:04 PM CDT

On an Island, Elephants Shrink Surprisingly Fast

Study suggests it took only 40 generations for ancient beasts to lose 85% of their size

(Newser) - Somewhere around 400,000 years ago, hulking elephants made their way to what we know now as the Italian island of Sicily. In a relative blink of the eye—roughly 40 generations—they shrank to miniature versions of their former selves, reports the New York Times . That's one estimate...

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...

Suspected Rhino Poacher Meets His End—Via Elephants

Man killed in South Africa's Kruger National Park over the weekend while running away from rangers

(Newser) - Rangers busted a trio of suspected poachers in a South African game reserve over the weekend, with tragic consequences for one of them. ABC News reports that on Saturday, rangers spied the three men, who were believed to be trying to poach rhinos, in Kruger National Park, where a chase...

'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...

Rescuers Save Elephant That Fell Into Well

They needed a crane, though

(Newser) - Rescuing someone who falls into a well is difficult enough. But rescuing an elephant? Authorities in southern India managed the feat when the animal fell into a well about 50 feet deep, reports NPR . It took 12 hours and three main steps: using pipes to pump out some of the...

Cause of Mass Elephant Die-Off Is Revealed
Cause of Mass Elephant
Die-Off Is Revealed
in case you missed it
Sep 26, 2020 1:30 PM CDT

Cause of Mass Elephant Die-Off Is Revealed

Botswana blames bacteria in water holes, not poaching

(Newser) - Researchers were baffled when elephants began dropping like flies in the African nation of Botswana earlier this year. Now, government researchers say they've figured out what happened, and it doesn't involve poachers. Instead, they say a naturally occurring bacteria in watering holes is the culprit, reports the BBC...

Mystery Surrounds Sudden Deaths of Elephants

At least 356 carcasses found, many near watering holes in Botswana

(Newser) - Hundreds of elephants have been found dead of unknown cause in Botswana in what's being called a "conservation disaster." Some 169 carcasses were spotted in the Okavango Delta—home to 15,000 of the country's 135,000 elephants—during a single three-hour flight in early May,...

Amid Pandemic, Thailand's Elephants Face Starvation

Owners say they can no longer afford to feed them

(Newser) - In Thailand, elephants are at risk of becoming indirect victims of the coronavirus pandemic. With tourism at a standstill, the country's estimated 2,000 captive elephants are at risk of starvation, the AFP reports. Owners say they can't afford the hundreds of pounds of food an elephant needs...

6 Elephants Die in Attempt to Save Calf

The baby elephant slipped over a waterfall, others followed

(Newser) - A horrible story out of Thailand, where a baby elephant apparently slipped over a waterfall and six elephants ultimately died in the ensuing rescue attempt. Officials at the Khao Yai National Park say all the elephants that died Saturday fell from the "notorious" Haew Narok or "Hell's...

Nation's Last 4 Circus Elephants Just Got Good News

Denmark will pay to send them into a comfy retirement

(Newser) - Ramboline, Lara, Djunga, and Jenny should be jumping for joy with the news that Denmark's last four circus elephants are now government property. The country's Ministry of Environment and Food has paid two circuses the equivalent of $1.6 million to acquire the elephants, reports the BBC . Their...

135K Elephants Were Protected. Not Anymore

Hunting ban in place since 2014 is lifted in Botswana

(Newser) - The nation that's home to roughly a third of Africa's 415,000 elephants has delivered a harsh but unsurprising blow to conservationists in lifting a five-year ban on hunting the animals. "The number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing,...

Nation Might Lift Ban on Elephant Hunting

Review ordered by Botswana leader suggests using meat for pet food

(Newser) - A third of Africa's elephants—an estimated 130,000—are found in Botswana. That's one reason animal activists are alarmed to learn the country is considering lifting its four-year ban on hunting the giant animal, 87 of which were found slaughtered and stripped of their tusks in a...

Elephants Join Search for Missing 2-Year-Old

He vanished in Thailand a week ago

(Newser) - Four elephants mounted by their mahouts have joined the search for a 2-year-old boy from Myanmar who has been missing in Thailand for a week, as hundreds of rescuers comb through a sugarcane field for traces of the missing child. Sului Piew, a son of migrant workers from Myanmar, went...

Elephants Have Bad News for Poachers: We Evolved

More African elephants aren't growing tusks

(Newser) - How can elephants fend off ivory poachers? By never growing tusks at all. Some 32% of female elephants in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park are now born tuskless—a far cry from the 2% to 4% naturally occurring in Africa's wild, per research published in National Geographic . Thousands of...

Elephants Massacred After Anti-Poaching Unit Disarmed

Evidence of 'poaching frenzy' uncovered

(Newser) - A conservation group has made a horrifying find in Botswana, a country once thought to have been a bright spot amid the relentless slaughter of Africa's elephants. While conducting an aerial census of the country's elephants, they discovered the carcasses of 87 of the animals near a wildlife...

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