Gabon’s wild and beautiful
rainforest is on the frontline against ivory poachers, part of international
criminal networks that also fund terrorists
by Damian Carrington in
Lopé national park, Gabon
Sat 12 May 2018 08.01 BST
Deep in the steamy rainforest
of Gabon, a poaching
gang’s night-time fire is smouldering and two long elephant tusks lie among the
tangled roots. The axe that hacked them off lies nearby.
Just after dawn, the insect buzz
and bird chatter is suddenly pierced by a whistle blast and camouflaged park
guards burst out from their forest cover, swiftly pinning the poachers to the
ground.
It is an exercise, part of
training being given by the British army to Gabonese park guards. But the
ongoing slaughter in Gabon is all too real: a dozen elephants are shot every
day by heavily armed ivory poachers.
Gabon is the green jewel in the
crown of the vast Congo rainforest, with 88% of the nation’s territory still
covered in forest. Gabon also hosts 50-60% of the world’s remaining 45,000
forest elephants, the smaller, rarer cousin of the savannah elephant.
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