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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: elephant

elephant stories: 33 news summaries

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Elephants on Verge 
 of Extinction 

Illegal hunting could kill off African population in 15 years

Oct 19, 09 1:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Within 15 years, African elephants could be extinct as a consequence of rampant ivory poaching, conservation experts say. Africa's elephant population numbers just 600,000, and that number appears to be dwindling by about 38,000 a year. That’s faster than the birth rate. One animal welfare group is... More »

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endangered species • Africa • ivory • poaching • birth rate • elephant • poachers

(Newser) - A 48-year-old Thai elephant who stepped on a landmine 10 years ago got fitted for permanent artificial leg today, the AP reports. Motola, who's become a cause celebré for the plight of elephants worldwide, got measured for the new limb at an elephant hospital in Thailand. Until now she’s... More »

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Thailand • prosthesis • land mines • elephant

(Newser) - PETA has released video it says shows cruelty to circus elephants, the Orange County Register reports. The tape shows Ringling Bros. handlers swatting elephants with “bull hooks,” and one pachyderm exhibiting signs of “severe psychological distress.” “This video again shows what we have been saying... More »

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animal cruelty • PETA • elephant • circus • undercover video • protesters • Ringling Brothers

 Elephants Humble Humans 
 in Eating Contest 

One light lunch for the pachyderms equals one crushing defeat for mankind

Jul 4, 09 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The fastest eaters mankind could muster were no match for the competition yesterday as Coney Island held its first-ever eating competition between people and pachyderms, NY1 reports. The trio of elephants comfortably munched a combined total of 505 hot dog buns in 6 minutes, while the three humans sweated and... More »

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contest • elephant • competitive eating • Ringling Brothers

 Thai Elephants Pose as Pandas 

Zoo staff reminds countrymen that elephants, too, need love

Jun 29, 09 1:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - A $20 million house for a newborn female panda and family at a Thailand zoo has rankled the staff of Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal, who are sick of the nation's panda obsession, reports the Bangkok Post. Concerned that the panda craze has diverted resources from Thailand’s national symbol, they've painted... More »

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Thailand • Bangkok • zoo • panda • paint • elephant

 Poachers' 
 Poison Slays 
 Rare Elephant 

Giant male ate spiked pineapples

Jun 15, 09 3:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rare Sumatran elephant died after eating pineapples spiked with poison by poachers in northwestern Indonesia, officials report. The giant 30-year-old male, its tusks ripped out for the ivory, was the ninth Sumatran elephant found dead in the region in the last three months. At least seven of them were... More »

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crime • ivory • poison • wildlife • elephant • Sumatra • Sumatran elephant • poachers

 Zoo Webcasts Elephant Birth 


May 18, 09 2:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Belgium zoo webcast its first elephant birth to enthralled animal lovers yesterday as the newborn plopped out of mom Phyo Phyo after 38 hours of labor. The mother, sister and aunt scrambled in excitement in a circle around the newborn, trumpeting, until the baby responded with squeals of its... More »

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Belgium • parenting • zoo • Brussels • webcast • elephant

Queen of Spain Pleads for Grief-Stricken Zoo Elephant

Barcelona Zoo urged to move bereaved elephant to more suitable habitat

May 15, 09 3:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Spain's Queen Sofia has intervened to help save an elephant campaigners say is dying of grief, the Independent reports. Susi, Barcelona Zoo's only elephant, lives alone in a concrete compound and has exhibited behavior experts say shows anxiety and deep depression since her companion died last year. The queen has... More »

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Spain • zoo • animal rights • elephant • elephant habitat • Queen Sofia

 Betty White-Barker 
 Feud Heats Up 

Price is Right host won't attend game show awards if she's there

May 12, 09 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bob Barker might not come on down to the Game Show Awards this weekend—at least, not if Betty White dares to show her face, BuzzerBlog reports. The feisty oldsters are feuding over an elephant Barker wants relocated from the Los Angeles Zoo, and since the Golden Girl got her... More »

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entertainment • Bob Barker • celebrity • animal rights • game show • elephant • Los Angeles Zoo • Betty White

(Newser) - A Polish lawmaker is incensed over a local zoo's acquisition of an elephant that might be gay, Reuters reports. “We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?” the flustered lawmaker said. Zoo officials said the 10-year-old elephant... More »

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Poland • European Union • zoo • elephant • homosexual • exotic animals • gays

India's Rampaging Elephants Become Election Issue

Villagers promise to vote for party that can save them from animal attacks

Mar 31, 09 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Villagers in eastern India have pledged to give their votes in the upcoming election to whoever can save them from rampaging elephants, Reuters reports. Dozens of people are trampled to death in the region every year by elephants forced to raid farmland because of habitat loss, and the two biggest... More »

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India • elephant • election • Indian elections

(Newser) - The circus is in town, and in a related development, the New York City Council is considering a ban on the display of "wild or exotic animals" for entertainment, the Times reports. The bill, understood to be aimed at the Ringling Brothers pachyderms, has the support of almost... More »

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New York City • animal rights • elephant • circus • city council • Ringling Brothers

 Jacko Adds 
 Elephant to 
 Concert Cast 

Plus, auction moves forward, glove on display

Mar 25, 09 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Yesterday it was a riverboat, today it’s an elephant. Michael Jackson wants to take the stage at his London concerts atop a magnificent jungle beast, the Daily Mirror reports. And that’s not all: Jacko also wants “panthers led on gold chains," said an insider. "... More »

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London • auction • celebrity • concert • elephant • Michael Jackson • Howard Stern Grid

Circus Elephant Abuse Case Hits Court

Animal rights groups allege circus group engages in jumbo-sized cruelty

Feb 5, 09 3:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The nation's circus elephants finally have their day in court, reports the Washington Post. Animal rights groups who accuse circuses of mistreating their elephants have battled for eight years to bring a case against Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. In opening arguments in Washington DC district court yesterday,... More »

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animal cruelty • lawsuit • elephant • circus • animal • ASPCA

Los Angeles Zoo to Bob Barker: Price Is Wrong

Park turns down $1.5M offer to relocate controversial elephant

Jan 28, 09 12:44 PM CST
(Newser) - The Los Angeles Zoo responded forcefully—and negatively—late yesterday to a $1.5 million offer from celebrity Bob Barker to relocate the zoo’s last elephant to a sanctuary, the Times reports. “Billy’s home is at the Los Angeles Zoo, not a distant location that is both... More »

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Bob Barker • The Price Is Right • animal rights • elephant • Billy • Los Angeles Zoo

(Newser) - Elephants in the wild live up to three times longer as those in zoos, a new study says. The six-year report by British and Canadian scientists is sure to fire up the debate between animal rights activists and zoos over the well-being of the animals. African and Asian elephants tend... More »

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zoo • animal rights • elephant • elephant habitat • animal

 Namibia's Ivory Sale 
 Raises Poaching Fears 

Legal auction could lead to more poaching

Oct 29, 08 7:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Namibia kicked off two weeks of ivory auctions yesterday, marking the first time in almost a decade that the elephant tusks have sold legally, reports the Times of London. Seven tons brought $1.18 million from Chinese and Japanese buyers, and 108 tons—the equivalent of 10,000 elephants—will... More »

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Africa • Zimbabwe • South Africa • ivory • poaching • wildlife • elephant • Botswana • Namibia • International Fund for Animal Welfare • tusks • Environmental Investigation Agency • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species • Traffic

 EBay Bans Ivory Sales 

Total ban announced ahead of report showing site fuels trade in wildlife products

Oct 22, 08 4:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - EBay will introduce a total ban on ivory sales after the holidays in a bid to prevent elephant poaching, Ars Technica reports. The company banned international sales of ivory on its site in 2007 but critics say it did little to halt the trade in illegal ivory. Conservationists estimate 20,... More »

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endangered species • eBay • ivory • poaching • elephant • International Fund for Animal Welfare • tusks

 Numbers
 Soaring,
 S. Africa Mulls
 Elephant Cull

In 13 years since killing ban, overpopulation posing serious threat

Aug 21, 08 2:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - South Africa's 1995 ban on culling elephants has proven wildly successful—perhaps too successful, writes Karen Lange in National Geographic. As the population has skyrocketed from 8,000 to 13,000 in the years since, starving elephants are now ravaging vegetation and taxing the nation's ecosystem, forcing experts to consider... More »

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endangered species • conservation • South Africa • ivory • poaching • elephant • elephant habitat

 UN Approves China to Buy Ivory 

Critics say allowing imports plays 'Russian roulette' with elephants' lives

Jul 16, 08 5:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - China has been given a green light to begin importing African ivory by a UN body that banned the sale 10 years ago, a decision that has infuriated conservation groups, the Daily Telegraph reports. African states say they need to sell stockpiles of ivory from elephants that are culled or... More »

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China • endangered species • Africa • conservation • ivory • wildlife • elephant • cull

1 - 20 of 33 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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