Namibia forced by drought to auction 1,000 wild animals

Southern African nation aiming to limit starvation and generate conservation funds

Agence France-Presse

Sun 16 Jun 2019 05.02 BST Last modified on Mon 17 Jun 2019 13.11 BST

Drought-hit Namibia has authorised the sale of at least 1,000 wild animals – including elephants and giraffes – to limit loss of life and generate US$1.1 million for conservation, the authorities confirmed Saturday.

“Given that this year is a drought year, the [environment] ministry would like to sell various type of game species from various protected areas to protect grazing and at the same time to also generate much needed funding for parks and wildlife management,” the environment ministry spokesman Romeo Muyunda said.

The authorities declared a national disaster last month, and the meteorological services in the southern African nation estimate that some parts of the country faced the deadliest drought in as many as 90 years.

“The grazing condition in most of our parks is extremely poor and if we do not reduce the number of animals, this will lead to loss of an animals due to starvation,” Muyunda said.

In April, an agriculture ministry report said 63,700 animals died in 2018 because of deteriorating grazing conditions brought on by dry weather.

Namibia’s cabinet announced this week that the government would sell about 1,000 wild animals.

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Raw ivory sales: Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia call for end to ban

Southern African countries to appeal to watchdog for permission to sell stockpiled ivory worth more than £230m

Nyasha Chingono

Tue 21 May 2019 13.41 BST

Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia are making a fresh appeal for a global watchdog to lift restrictive measures on the trade in raw ivory.

The watchdog, Cites, prohibits unregulated commercial trade in endangered species around the world.

The three southern African countries, home to 61% of the continent’s elephants, will make their application for the change at the Cites conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which opens on Thursday. Their last appeal for a lifting of the measures, at the 2016 Cites conference in South Africa, was rejected.

According to Zimbabwe’s ministry of information, it is almost 13 years since the country’s last commercial sale of ivory. “Our ivory stockpile is worth over $300m [£235m], which we can’t sell because countries without elephants are telling those with them what to do with their animals,” Nick Mangwana, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said.

There is a growing outcry over the ban, and moves to lift it could earn Zimbabwe much-needed funds for conservation.

Zimbabwe will also make a separate appeal at the conference for permission to sell some of its elephants, as conflict between people and wildlife escalates.

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Lions have adapted to hunt seals and seabirds in Namibia, study finds

Desert lions learning to hunt marine life to survive Skeleton Coast’s harsh conditions

Niki Rust

Mon 28 Jan 2019 10.04 GMTLast modified on Mon 28 Jan 2019 15.53 GMT

Lions in Namibia have turned to hunting seabirds and seals in the face of scarce food resources in the desert landscape, research has found.

The desert lions, which are found exclusively within the country’s Skeleton Coast region, are the only lions known to target marine life. Among the creatures they have been recorded eating are fur seals, flamingos and cormorants.

The conservationist Flip Stander, the author of the study published in the Namibian Journal of Environment, said the discovery showed the big cats have learned diet adaptability is key to survival in this unforgiving terrain.

The Skeleton Coast spans the coastal backbone of Namibia and is the driest place in sub-Saharan Africa, receiving as little as 5mm (0.2in) of rain a year. The desert lion’s usual prey of oryx and ostriches are thin on the ground there. The neighbouring ocean, however, is rich in life, sustaining nearly 1m Cape fur seals that breed on the shoreline, and a multitude of seabirds.

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Can Namibia’s desert lions survive humanity?

The lions of the Namib Desert survive against incredible odds, but can they survive trophy hunting, human-wildlife conflict and climate change? 

Jeremy Hance

Wed 22 Aug 2018 15.53 BSTLast modified on Wed 22 Aug 2018 17.03 BST

Desert lions aren’t a distinct species or even a subspecies, but they are different. Drop a plains lion into the Namib Desert — where it may rain only 5 millimeters a year — and watch it perish.

According to Izak Smit, who runs the local NGO, Desert Lions Human Relations Aid (DeLHRA), the desert lions of Namibia are able to go long periods of time without water, getting most of their moisture from the blood of their kills. They are leaner and woolier (due to frigid nights). And they behave distinctly than other lions: prides are smaller, they have bigger home ranges and travel further and there is no infanticide — a common practice among plains lions.

“Cub mortality is mostly close to zero as the mothers are formidable providers and guardians,” Smit said. “The mere fact that they can sustain themselves in such a harsh environment [makes them distinct] from other lions.”

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US Lifts Ban on Import of African Elephant Hunting Trophies: What It Means

By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer | November 17, 2017 01:29pm ET

Editor's Note:On Friday evening (Nov. 17), President Trump tweeted that he was putting on hold the ban reversal on the import of African elephant trophies. Read more about the reversal of the reversal.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration lifted a ban on importing hunting trophies from African elephants into the United States, claiming that this policy change would benefit elephants — but conservation officials are skeptical.  

Representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced in a statement yesterday (Nov. 16) that the department would begin issuing permits allowing the import of sport-hunted trophies collected from elephants killed in Zimbabwe from Jan. 21, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2018. However, a ban remains on importing elephant trophies from Tanzania, according to the statement.

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Ban on US Import of Elephant Trophies Remains, For Now

By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer | November 19, 2017 09:11pm ET

Earlier this week, the Trump administration lifted a ban on importing hunting trophies from African elephants into the United States, claiming that this policy change would benefit elephants — but then on Friday evening (Nov. 17), President Trump tweeted that he was putting that decision "on hold," pending a review of "all conservation facts."

Representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had announced in a statement released on Nov. 16 that the department would begin issuing permits allowing the import of sport-hunted trophies collected from elephants killed in Zimbabwe from Jan. 21, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2018. However, a ban remains on importing elephant trophies from Tanzania, according to the statement. [7 Iconic Animals Humans Are Driving to Extinction]

President Trump's tweet walking back the ban suspension was followed by a tweet from Secretary Ryan Zinke, later that night, issuing a statement saying that "President Trump and I have talked and both believe that conservation and healthy herds are critical. As a result, in a manner compliant with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, the issuing of permits is being put on hold as the decision is being reviewed."

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Texas hunter shoots endangered Namibian rhino for $350,000

A US hunter who paid $350,000 to kill a black rhinoceros in Namibia successfully shot the animal on Monday, saying that his actions would help protect the critically-endangered species.

Corey Knowlton, from Texas, downed the rhino with a high-powered rifle after a three-day hunt through the bush with government officials on hand to ensure he killed the correct animal.

Knowlton, 36, won the right to shoot the rhino at an auction in Dallas in early 2014 -- attracting fierce criticism from many conservationists and even some death threats.

He took a CNN camera crew on the hunt to try to show why he believed the killing was justified.

"The whole world knows about this hunt and I think it's extremely important that people know it's going down the right way, in the most scientific way that it can possibly happen," Knowlton told the TV channel in footage released Wednesday.

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Texas man who won hunting auction to be allowed to import black rhino trophy

US Fish and Wildlife Service says importing carcass will benefit conservation

Corey Knowlton bid $350,000 to shoot endangered species in Namibia

Associated Press

Friday 27 March 2015 17.08 GMTLast modified on Friday 27 March 201517.23 GMT

The US government will allow a Texas man to import the trophy of an endangered black rhinoceros if he kills one in Africa as part of a conservation fundraiser.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service said on Thursday that importing a carcass from Namibia meets criteria under the Endangered Species Act of benefiting conservation.

Corey Knowlton bid $350,000 last year in a Dallas Safari Club auction billed as a fundraising effort to save the black rhino.

In a letter to the agency in December, the club’s executive director, Ben Carter, said the money raised from such auctions is “critical to supporting the Namibian government in their efforts to stem the tide of commercial killing of these animals”.

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Cheetah menu: Wildlife instead of cattle

Date:

August 27, 2014

Source:

Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB)

Summary:

Cheetahs primarily prefer wildlife on their menu to cattle, scientists have confirmed. The cheetah is a vulnerable species that only exists on Namibia’s commercial farmland in large populations. Here, local farmers see cheetahs as a potential threat for their cattle.

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Injury to trophy hunter re-ignites calls to ban licences to shoot Namibian elephants

The trampling of a Namibian trophy hunter by an elephant has raised the debate around hunting permits issued for the country’s gravely endangered desert elephants.

As reported in the Namibian newspaper New Era, a Namibian professional hunter sustained multiple injuries when a young elephant bull attacked him in the Uukwaluudhi Conservancy. He is now recovering in hospital.

The victim was assisting a German hunter who owns a hunting safari company. He was given a permit by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and the professional hunter was helping him to identify the best elephant suitable for hunting.

The bull was subsequently shot by environmental officials and the meat distributed to the local community. It was the second elephant to be killed in the region in recent weeks.

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Animals built reefs 550 million years ago, fossil study finds

Date:

June 26, 2014

Source:

University of Edinburgh

Summary:

It is a remarkable survivor of an ancient aquatic world -- now a new study sheds light on how one of Earth's oldest reefs was formed. Researchers have discovered that one of these reefs -- now located on dry land in Namibia -- was built almost 550 million years ago, by the first animals to have hard shells.

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New species of small mammal: Round-eared elephant-shrew found in Namibia

Date:

June 26, 2014

Source:

California Academy of Sciences

Summary:

Scientists have discovered a new species of round-eared sengi, or elephant-shrew, in the remote deserts of southwestern Africa. This is the third new species of sengi to be discovered in the wild in the past decade. It is also the smallest known member of the 19 sengis in the order Macroscelidea.

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Controversy grows as first desert elephant shot

Posted by: CJ Carrington / posted on June 23rd, 2014

With the world still reeling from the tragic poaching death of Satao, the iconic Kenyan tusker, news that Namibia has just followed through on killing the first of the Namibian Desert Elephants on Saturday, is causing another outcry.

The Namibian Government, seemingly unfazed by the recent international outrage and negative publicity surrounding the issuing of up to six permits to hunt desert elephants, ignored offers by conservationists to buy these permits to save the elephants and allowed hunters to shoot the first of these elephants last Saturday.

The elephant nicknamed ‘Delta’ was shot in a non-trophy hunt operated by Nick Nolte Hunting Safaris – the same hunting outfitter that had rejected an alternative offer from lodge owner Basil Calitz, who commented: ‘If it was truly a case of the communities benefitting from own use, why was the offer to purchase the permit, replace the meat, and set up sustainable food production programs denied? The long-term benefit, financial and otherwise, would have far surpassed this controversial and suspiciously timed kill.’

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Namibia set to kill a third of remaining desert bull elephants

Posted by: Sally Coulson / posted on May 28th, 2014

There are growing fears that Namibia is about to sell off hunting rights to a third of the remaining adult bull desert elephants in the country. With an estimated population of just over 100 elephants and just 18 of those being adult males the loss of a third of the breeding males would be devastating for the long-term viability of the famous desert elephants of Namibia.

Living in harsh conditions such as the desert has forced this population of elephants to learn new techniques to survive and this has been passed down through the generations. As the population grows smaller and the mature adults are killed the ability for the herd to maintain it’s knowledge in living in these highly stressful conditions diminishes.

While the Namibian government claims that the population is strong at over 500 elephants local conservationists believe the actual numbers are around 100 elephants. Of far more concern is the ratio between males and females. Previous hunting and poaching has reduced the breeding bull elephants to such an extent that there is now 13 females for every male elephant. This ration will grow even larger if 6 more mature bull elephants are killed in the prosed hunt later this year.

Desert living elephants are a rare group of elephants. While they are not genetically distinct from other African plains elephants they have a special herd knowledge that allows them to survive I the harsh conditions of the desert. Apart from the Namibian population the only other group of elephants with this specialist knowledge and skills can be found in Mali.

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Mysterious 'Fairy Circles' Not Explained by Termites, Study Suggests

By Megan Gannon, News Editor | May 20, 2014 12:59pm ET

"Fairy circles" that form in the arid grasslands of Namibia have baffled scientists for decades. In the latest attempt to explain the cause of these mysterious circular patches, a group of researchers turned to aerial images.

From the aerial images, the scientists discovered that fairy circles are distributed in surprisingly regular patterns, which might rule out the popular theory that termites are the creators.

"The occurrence of such patterning in nature is rather unusual," study researcher Stephan Getzin, of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, said in a statement. "There must be particularly strong regulating forces at work."

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Poaching spreads to Namibia

Elephant and rhino poaching in Africa is spreading to the sparsely-populated vastness of Namibia in the southeast of the continent, latest official figures show.

Between 2005 and 2011 just two elephant were killed in Namibia, while 121 have been killed in the past two and a half years, and while no rhino were poached between 2005 and 2010, a total of 11 have been killed since then -- rising from one in 2011 to four already this year.

Deputy Environment Minister Pohamba Shifeta told AFP that the government is worried by the trend and is working with law enforcement agencies to tackle the problem. "We don't want the numbers to escalate further," Shifeta said. "There is a high probability that attention will shift to Namibia as we have recently experienced."

Across the border in South Africa, rhino poaching has reached crisis levels, with more than 290 killed already this year. Most of the poaching in Namibia has taken place in protected areas, such as the Bwabwata National Park in the northeast, where 13 elephant were killed in 2012, the environment ministry report said.

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3 Chinese arrested boarding a plane with 14 rhino horns

Posted by: Kevin Heath / 3 hours ago

Namibia has announced that 3 Chinese nationals were arrested on 23rd March as they boarded an aircraft with 14 rhino horns and leopard skins hidden in their luggage. They were arrested as they tried to board a flight to Hong Kong from Namibia.

The three men were arrested at 07.40 am on Sunday 23rd March. Customs officials discovered the rhino horns during a routine scan of luggage. They had been wrapped in foil and plastic before being hidden in clothes. They were about to board a flight to Johannesburg with a connection onto Hong Kong as their final destination.

Deputy commissioner Edwin Kanguatjivi from the Namibian police revealed details about the Chinese following investigations.

The Chinese had flown from China on March 9th and arrived in Zambia. They then arrived in Namibia on 12th March on a tourist visa at the Wenela border post.

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Black rhino hunt permit auctioned in US

A permit to hunt and kill an endangered Black Rhino in Namibia has been sold at a US auction for $350,000 (£212,000).

The Dallas Safari Club in Texas says the hunt will help protect the species by removing an old aggressive rhino, and funding future conservation.

However, the auction has been fiercely criticised by conservationists, and has even drawn death threats.

Namibia is home to about a third of the world's 5,000 black rhinos, and issues just three hunting permits a year.

It is the first time a permit has been auctioned outside the southern African nation.

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Namibia to export elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and cheetah amongst many others to a Cuban zoo

Why take animals from the wild?

August 2013. Some 150 animals, including elephant, large carnivores, small predators, antelope and vultures will form part of a huge consignment of wildlife being donated to the Cuban government as part of an agreement between the two countries. The South Africa National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has expressed its disgust at the Namibian government's decision to capture animals from the wild for transportation to Cuba.

This action will be particularly distressing for animals that live in close knot families, especially elephants, whose family ties can be very close. Wildlife Extra questions why, when there are surplus zoo animals all over the world, so many need to be removed from the wild for this venture?

Plans are to relocate the first animals to Cuba by air by October 2012

The NSPCA expresses concern that these wild-caught animals are to endure a long and stressful flight to their new destination and also raises questions as to whether or not any animal welfare organisation has checked the facilities and standards of care at their end destination. It is understood that the animals will be kept in a national zoo-type park, where some animals will be semi-free but still confined.

It is saddening to note that these animals will be taken out of their natural habitats and sent to a strange land where they will be deprived of freedom and be totally dependent on humans for their daily needs. Considering the inhumane culling of seals taking place in Namibia at the moment and the world-wide outcry, this latest action by the Namibian government and its Ministry of Environment and Tourism raises serious concerns regarding this country's stance on animal welfare. Perhaps something for animal lovers to consider when considering Namibia as a holiday destination.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/namibia-export.html

Namibia seal cull video highlights brutality of clubbing pups

Earthrace Conservation calls for an immediate halt before 80,000 more seal pups are killed

July 2013. Earthrace Conservation has released graphic footage captured by covert filming of the annual seal cull on one of Namibia's highest security beaches, Atlas Bay, a lucrative diamond mining area.

The footage shows dozens of seal pups being driven across the beach to be clubbed to death by a team wielding what appear to be pick axe handles before their carcasses are loaded into a pick-up truck for disposal.

80-90,000 seal pups culled every year

In July each year, a total allowable catch (TAC) of between 80-90,000 seal pups, is declared by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) in Namibia in a clubbing season that last until November. In addition, between 5,000 to 6,000 bulls are allowed to be shot.

South Africa abandoned clubbing seals

Cape Fur Seals are only found in two places on earth - Namibia and South Africa - and are listed on Appendix 11 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The MFMR maintains that the cull is necessary to protect their fisheries and that it provides employment and income for Namibia.

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Five new sites declared as ‘World Heritage’ – Namibia, China, Tajikistan, Italy & Mexico

June 2013. Namib Sand Sea in Namibia, Xinjiang Tianshan in China, Tajik National Park in Tajikistan, Mount Etna in Italy, and El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, have been declared World Heritage sites, following the expert recommendations of IUCN. 

Mount Kenya & Lewa Conservancy

In addition, the World Heritage Committee approved the extension of Mount Kenya National Park to include the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve, also recommended by IUCN.

Deserts, Mountains & Volcanos 

"From vast deserts in Namibia and Mexico to high mountain ranges in China and Tajikistan and a volcano in Italy, the new World Heritage Sites are a celebration of the beauty of nature and our joint commitment to conserve it for generations to come," says Tim Badman, Director of IUCN World Heritage Programme. "We congratulate the States Parties for their hard work to make this possible and the World Heritage Committee for applying the high standards that it has set itself." 

The Namib Sand Sea - a unique coastal fog desert with a diverse range of large, shifting dunes - is a place of outstanding natural beauty where atmospheric conditions provide exceptional visibility of the landscape by day and the dazzling southern hemisphere sky at night. It has been long identified as one of the main gaps on the List and is the first site in ten years to be inscribed under all natural World Heritage criteria. 

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