The operation was part of a yearlong effort to collar and track 60 elephants in and around Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, widely acknowledged as ‘Ground Zero’ in the poaching that has decimated Africa’s elephants in recent years. The Associated Press traveled to the area to witness how the battle to save the continent’s elephants is gaining some momentum, with killings declining and some herds showing signs of recovery. In China, trade in ivory and ivory products is illegal as of 2018. A tourist guide told The Associated Press that several years ago, he and a client saw an elephant family at sunset in the Selous reserve. And African elephant poaching has declined to pre-2008 levels after reaching a peak in 2011, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Source: Egypt Independent April 13, 2018 06:11 UTC