elephants – News Stories About elephants - Page 1

Rescuers Save Elephant That Fell Into Well

They needed a crane, though

(Newser) - Rescuing someone who falls into a well is difficult enough. But rescuing an elephant? Authorities in southern India managed the feat when the animal fell into a well about 50 feet deep, reports NPR . It took 12 hours and three main steps: using pipes to pump out some of the... More »

Cause of Mass Elephant Die-Off Is Revealed

Botswana blames bacteria in water holes, not poaching

(Newser) - Researchers were baffled when elephants began dropping like flies in the African nation of Botswana earlier this year. Now, government researchers say they've figured out what happened, and it doesn't involve poachers. Instead, they say a naturally occurring bacteria in watering holes is the culprit, reports the BBC... More »

Mystery Surrounds Sudden Deaths of Elephants

At least 356 carcasses found, many near watering holes in Botswana

(Newser) - Hundreds of elephants have been found dead of unknown cause in Botswana in what's being called a "conservation disaster." Some 169 carcasses were spotted in the Okavango Delta—home to 15,000 of the country's 135,000 elephants—during a single three-hour flight in early May,... More »

Amid Pandemic, Thailand's Elephants Face Starvation

Owners say they can no longer afford to feed them

(Newser) - In Thailand, elephants are at risk of becoming indirect victims of the coronavirus pandemic. With tourism at a standstill, the country's estimated 2,000 captive elephants are at risk of starvation, the AFP reports. Owners say they can't afford the hundreds of pounds of food an elephant needs... More »

Elephant Calf Falls Over a Waterfall, Rescue Turns Tragic

6 Elephants Die in Attempt to Save Calf

The baby elephant slipped over a waterfall, others followed

(Newser) - A horrible story out of Thailand, where a baby elephant apparently slipped over a waterfall and six elephants ultimately died in the ensuing rescue attempt. Officials at the Khao Yai National Park say all the elephants that died Saturday fell from the "notorious" Haew Narok or "Hell's... More »

Denmark Pays $1.6M to Retire 4 Circus Elephants

Nation's Last 4 Circus Elephants Just Got Good News

Denmark will pay to send them into a comfy retirement

(Newser) - Ramboline, Lara, Djunga, and Jenny should be jumping for joy with the news that Denmark's last four circus elephants are now government property. The country's Ministry of Environment and Food has paid two circuses the equivalent of $1.6 million to acquire the elephants, reports the BBC . Their... More »

A Third of Africa's Elephants Can Now Be Hunted

135K Elephants Were Protected. Not Anymore

Hunting ban in place since 2014 is lifted in Botswana

(Newser) - The nation that's home to roughly a third of Africa's 415,000 elephants has delivered a harsh but unsurprising blow to conservationists in lifting a five-year ban on hunting the animals. "The number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing,... More »

Botswana Mulls Turning Elephants Into Pet Food

Nation Might Lift Ban on Elephant Hunting

Review ordered by Botswana leader suggests using meat for pet food

(Newser) - A third of Africa's elephants—an estimated 130,000—are found in Botswana. That's one reason animal activists are alarmed to learn the country is considering lifting its four-year ban on hunting the giant animal, 87 of which were found slaughtered and stripped of their tusks in a... More »

Elephants Join Search for Missing 2-Year-Old

He vanished in Thailand a week ago

(Newser) - Four elephants mounted by their mahouts have joined the search for a 2-year-old boy from Myanmar who has been missing in Thailand for a week, as hundreds of rescuers comb through a sugarcane field for traces of the missing child. Sului Piew, a son of migrant workers from Myanmar, went... More »

Elephants Evolve in Way That Thwarts Poachers

Elephants Have Bad News for Poachers: We Evolved

More African elephants aren't growing tusks

(Newser) - How can elephants fend off ivory poachers? By never growing tusks at all. Some 32% of female elephants in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park are now born tuskless—a far cry from the 2% to 4% naturally occurring in Africa's wild, per research published in National Geographic . Thousands of... More »

Elephants Massacred After Anti-Poaching Unit Disarmed

Evidence of 'poaching frenzy' uncovered

(Newser) - A conservation group has made a horrifying find in Botswana, a country once thought to have been a bright spot amid the relentless slaughter of Africa's elephants. While conducting an aerial census of the country's elephants, they discovered the carcasses of 87 of the animals near a wildlife... More »

Poachers Still Killing Elephants, but Not for Ivory

They Tracked 19 Elephants, Found Something Macabre

Poaching for elephant skin raises fears populations could get decimated in Myanmar

(Newser) - Poaching elephants for their ivory has already devastated populations, but poaching the animals for their skin could be disastrous, according to a new study detailing the "heartbreaking" practice in Myanmar. Poaching wasn't thought to be a major issue in the country at the outset of the three-year study... More »

One of World's Premier Ivory Investigators Is Killed

Ivory Sleuth Who Traveled Underworlds Killed at Home

Top ivory investigator Esmond Bradley Martin, 75, found stabbed in neck in Nairobi

(Newser) - "Pachyderms have lost a great champion." That's the tribute of one elephant expert for Esmond Bradley Martin, one of the world's most well-known ivory investigators, who was found killed in his home in Nairobi, Kenya, per the Telegraph and BBC . The 75-year-old had a stab wound... More »

Elephants' Fear of Bees May Help Save Them

New study adds credence to innovative strategy being used to protect wild elephants

(Newser) - Researchers tramped into a national park in Sri Lanka, played a recording of agitated honey bees within earshot of elephants, and got the reaction they hoped for: The elephants developed a serious case of the heebie jeebies. The study in Current Biology suggests that Asian elephants react in much the... More »

Movie Star Elephant Attacks, Kills Handler in Thailand

'Unpreventable Tragedy': Elephant Attacks, Kills Handler

Others say performing elephants' plight makes Thailand incident unsurprising

(Newser) - In July, World Animal Protection issued a report on the "thousands of elephants exploited for tourism" in Asia, with Thailand listed as a "main concern." One of those elephants, a well-known performer in films and ads, may have rebelled against his own conditions Monday, crushing to death... More »

US Already Quietly Loosened Limits on Lion Trophies

Surprise: Lion Trophy Limits Were Loosened a Month Ago

One month before controversial decision on elephant trophies

(Newser) - One month before the Trump administration sparked outrage by reversing a ban on trophies from threatened African elephants, federal officials quietly loosened restrictions on the importation of heads and hides of lions shot for sport, the AP reports. The US Fish and Wildlife Service began issuing permits Oct. 20 for... More »

Escaped Elephant Strolls Through Neighborhood

Kelly escaped from the Circus World Museum in Wisconsin

(Newser) - The pachyderm was a startling sight for residents of one small Wisconsin neighborhood. The AP reports a full-grown elephant sauntered through Baraboo early Friday morning on a brief walk of freedom. The mammoth creature more suited for the "big top" clashed with the quiet residential neighborhood. Law enforcement officers... More »

Court Overturns Order Meant to Protect LA Zoo Elephants

LA Zoo Elephants Lose a Battle in Court

Court overturns order aimed at protecting them

(Newser) - For years, the Los Angeles Zoo has been under a court order requiring it to exercise its three elephants on soft ground and not use electric shocks or barbed sticks on them. On Thursday, that court order was overturned in a unanimous decision by the California Supreme Court that animal... More »

Park Employee Killed in Elephant Herd Attack

Elephants Kill Employee in South African National Park

The deadly attack happened Thursday in Kruger National Park

(Newser) - A herd of elephants has attacked a group of wildlife park employees in South Africa, trampling one to death and seriously injuring another, the AP reports. South Africa's national parks service said Friday that the incident occurred Thursday afternoon near a camp in the flagship Kruger National Park. The... More »

Both Man, Beast Helped Save Elephants From Mud Pit

Dramatic Rescue, With Surprise Help From Muddy Elephants

Asian elephants in Cambodia were mired in bomb crater—then assistance arrived

(Newser) - Teamwork both human and animal is what saved the lives of nearly a dozen Asian elephants in a Cambodian wildlife preserve after local farmers there stumbled upon a distressing sight: 11 of the endangered animals stuck in a mud-filled crater formed nearly a half-century ago by a Vietnam War bomb,... More »