GlobalStudies06

Jon Bass

Global Spartan

Wild Life in Africa

The Elephant is one of the rulers of the African plain. Many things such as open, unregulated African markets which fuel the illegal poaching industry, and park rangers patrolling vast acres with no means of communication, have been hurting the effort to protect this wild species. There have been many plans put in place to keep them safe and thriving. These plans range from sauces to crack downs on poaching, to the usage of Motorola radio handsets.
In 1997 Loki Osborn implemented his new found method of keeping crops from being eaten by elephants and other crop consuming mammals in the Zambezi Valley, which straddles the borders of Zimbabwe and Zambia. “Chili peppers are unpalatable to crop-raiding mammals, so they give farmers an economically feasible means of minimizing damage to their investments”, said Osborn, project director for the EPDT. He calls his idea Elephant Pepper. While other deterrents, such as electric fences, keep the elephants out of crops they are too expensive and hurt the animals’ as well. Chilies provide farmers with a cost-effective means of warding off the elephants without inflicting them with permanent damage.
Until now, park rangers have had no means of communication with one another. Thanks to Motorola, Inc. and AWF, that’s about to change. The African Wildlife Foundation has delivered 41 Motorola radio handsets to the warden and rangers of Samburu National Reserve, supplying the tools to ensure the park will stay connected while the wildlife remain protected. “We are extremely grateful to Motorola for its generosity,” says Mitchell, “and we hope this is the beginning of a long conservation partnership in which we can work together to provide fully-equipped communication networks.” Observation posts that operate around the clock to prevent poaching have been helped incredibly by the Reliable radio network links. Results from conservation efforts, using fully equipped communication networks, have been remarkable, and not just for elephants, In Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater, rhino populations have stabilized for the first time in twenty years. The radios also allow scouts to quickly report threats to elephants or to anti-poaching staff working to protect them.
 

1. Key to Elephant Conservation is in the Sauce; Fiery Chilies Keep Elephants out of Crops and Make a Great Sauce, Say African Entrepreneurs
   July 29, 2005 — By Wildlife Conservation Society
   http://www.enn.com/aff_PF.html?id=785
   

1. New Communications Networks Safeguard Wildlife
   February 13, 2006 — By the African Wildlife Foundation
   http://www.enn.com/aff_PF.html?id=1127
   

1. Game Officer Killed by Elephant Poachers
   May 01, 2006 — By African Wildlife Foundation
   http://www.enn.com/aff_PF.html?id=1270
   

1. Plan for African Ivory Markets a Victory for Elephants
   October 08, 2004 — By World Wildlife Fund
   http://www.enn.com/aff_PF.html?id=80
   

1. IFAW Rescues Elephant Calf from Poachers
   August 03, 2005 — By International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
   http://www.enn.com/aff_PF.html?id=793