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Fri, 10/03/2006 - 1:37pm
Thanks for posting these two articles Gameranger - it appears that, according to Iain Whyte (who is a very eminent and respected expert on the 'elephant problem' in Kruger) and the GRAA; South Africa is presented with very difficult decisions..... do they give in to the very vociferous lobbying from the Anti-Culling NGO's and individuals (many of whom are based in the 'rest of the world') and put other species at risk of becoming endangered or even, God forbid, extinct or do they listen to the scientists and professional environmentalists who can see no other truly viable option but to cull, but, in doing so, take the risk of negative publicity and that tourists from the rest of the world may boycot South Africa and it's National Parks.
It is a very emotive issue but it is one, in my belief, that can only be resolved, for the greater good of the environment and the human population, by those who actually work in the wildlife areas that are affected.
Those of us who live in towns and cities around the world but are not directly affected can certainly make our views known but at the end of the day we do not have to live with the elephant problem and as such cannot truly appreciate the difficulties that Sanparks and the local communities have with this issue.
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Founding Member of the AAA - Africam Addicts Association.Want to learn more about the animals you see on the cam?Go to www.wildlifecampus.com for free modules and full courses
An interesting idea Scoog but I don't believe it is really workable as it is only the strongest fittest bulls that actually get to reproduce.
Culling (and any form of contraception) involves the animals within the Matriarchal herd, not the reproductive males. It is the males genes that are the deciding factor in whether the herd is made up of strong, viable animals. The dominant male will mate with all reproductive females in the herd but if any of the females has 'weak' genes the calf will not normally survive for long enough to become reproductive itself.
Vasectomy would therefore not work as the elephants do need to reproduce and performing vasectomies could result in males with weaker genes producing weaker calves - in the longer term, effectively wiping out the species
The 'elephant problem' is caused by the fact that, as a species, they are too 'successful' resulting in serious overpopulation.
Founding Member of the AAA - Africam Addicts Association.Want to learn more about the animals you see on the cam?Go to www.wildlifecampus.com for free modules and full courses