The findings of a scientific study recently published in the online version of the journal Conservation Biology has discovered that poaching of African elephants increases during periods of local economic decline. It appears that as the fortune of rural Africans go so goes the fortune of the elephant.
Locals tend to increase their poaching of elephants when their economic fortunes decline. Both for the large stocks of game meat realized from an individual elephant and also for the economic gain associated with the value of ivory found in their tusks. This important finding will help conservation managers head off future poaching pressures related to the vagaries of local economies. What you don't know you can't plan for, but when available information is used to formulate positive actions it can be very powerful. Armed with this information wildlife managers will be able to plan ahead by increasing guard patrols when they know local economies are flagging or by assisting with programs to help locals meet their monetary and food needs.
Click for more information on this exciting study on elephant poaching and economic conditions.
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