The Elephant Story

The Market for Elephant Exotics is Exploding in China and Vietnam

Jun 18, 2018 | 0 comments

Scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) have found that poaching is an emerging crisis for Asian elephants in Myanmar. Previously, female Asian elephants were generally protected from slaughter in the wild as illegal demand was only for the ivory of the males. By accident, researchers became aware of the crisis as they were conducting an unrelated telemetry study in which they fitted nineteen Asian elephants with satellite GPS collars to better understand elephant movements and reduce human-elephant conflict. At the time, it was believed that such conflict situations represented the greatest threat to the wild elephant population though...

The Fiftieth Anniversary of The Tet Offensive

Mar 05, 2018 | 0 comments

It is a strange event for any American, Australian, New Zealander, South Korean or Thai who fought in the Viet Nam War to celebrate the Tet offensive in South Viet Nam which occurred fifty years ago last month. The offensive preceded the Tet holiday or lunar new year celebrated by the Vietnamese. The Tet offensive spawned a massive escalation in the Viet Nam War and resulted in the loss of an average of 45 American soldiers per day that year. It led President Lyndon Johnson not to seek a second term of office. Accordingly, it was a celebratory event for...

Just Like Chinese Checkers

Feb 06, 2017 | 0 comments

In a very positive move, China, namely President Xi Jinping, has banned the commercial ivory trade which could dramatically diminish illegal elephant poaching in Africa. Apart from illustrating the environmental awareness of China, it helps eliminate corruption as ivory was often used to bribe Chinese government officials. Moreover, the action builds credibility with African countries where China is attempting to strengthen their resource control of oil and minerals. The Chinese demand for ivory has been staggering. In broad terms, China represented some 70% of the worldwide illegal ivory trade; has an existing stockpile of "legal" ivory valued at $150 million...