elephants

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Elephant Ancestor's Bones Alter Our Continent's History

Gomphotheres appear to have roamed North America as recently as 13,400 years ago

(Newser) - North America's prehistoric Clovis people were known hunters of large mammoths and mastodons. But another elephant ancestor, the smaller gomphothere, may also have fallen prey to the ambitious hunter-gatherers. An archaeological dig begun in 2007 in northwestern Mexico now carbon dates that site—which has given up Clovis spear...

Namibia to Hunters: Shoot Our Rare Elephants

Country grants 9 permits for adult male desert elephants

(Newser) - At least one rare desert elephant has been killed in Namibia and more are likely to follow. The country has granted nine permits to hunt the large beasts, of which the Conservation Action Trust says only 100 exist. As the permits specify adult males, the trust says that part of...

Poachers Kill One of World's Biggest Elephants

Satao, almost 50, was found mutilated, with his tusks hacked off, in Kenya

(Newser) - An enormous and iconic elephant thought to have been born in the late 1960s—considered one of the last great "tuskers," with ivory that weighed more than 100 pounds and was so big it touched the ground—has been killed by poachers in Tsavo National Park in Kenya....

'Zero Tolerance' Nepal Hits Huge Anti-Poaching Milestone

Elephants, tigers, rhinos avoid tragic fate for a full year

(Newser) - Poachers recently killed four rhinoceroses within a week in Kenya; last year, that number was 1,004 in South Africa. But in Nepal, not one was poached in the yearlong span that ended in February—nor were any tigers or elephants, the World Wildlife Fund reports. The country celebrated its...

Elephants Can Recognize Different Human Languages

They protect themselves from groups seen as threat

(Newser) - Speak the wrong language in front of an African elephant, and she may not like you much. In a study at a Kenyan national park, researchers played recordings of different languages and voices for 47 elephant family groups, comprising hundreds of animals. The recordings included the voices of Maasai men,...

Elephants Console Each Other
 Elephants Console Each Other 
Feb 19, 2014 5:27 PM CST

Elephants Console Each Other

They comfort distressed pals, says study

(Newser) - Elephants not only recognize when a member of their group is stressed, they offer comfort in the form of reassuring touches and chirping noises, reports National Geographic . The "comforting" trait is rare among animals, with dogs, chimps, and we humans among the few to have it. Researchers in Thailand...

Obama Cracks Down on US Ivory Sales

Sellers will now have to prove their ivory is legit

(Newser) - The Obama administration today announced a ban on nearly all ivory imports, exports, and sales, along with rules designed to make skirting the ban especially difficult. Under the new rules, all commercial imports of African elephant ivory are banned, including antiques. Most domestic sales will be banned as well; there...

US Woman Trampled by Elephants in Thailand

Police say victim, in her 20s, apparently left campground to take photos

(Newser) - Park rangers in Thailand have found the body of an American tourist who was apparently trampled to death by elephants in a reserve outside Bangkok. The woman went missing Jan. 13 in Thailand's Kaeng Krachan National Park in the western province of Petchaburi, say police. She was found in...

Cops: Drunk Woman Has Close Call in Zoo Pen

Taken to hospital 'extremely intoxicated'

(Newser) - A woman nearly got the shock of her life last night after wandering drunk into the elephant pen at the Denver Zoo. But rather than have a nasty encounter with the animals, she simply sat down ... next to electrical wires, police tweeted . Police responded to reports of an electrocution, but...

Death Toll in Elephant Poisoning Rises to 91

Poachers in Zimbabwe find ruthlessly efficient way to harvest ivory

(Newser) - It was bad enough when reports emerged that poachers had killed about 40 elephants in a Zimbabwe national park by poisoning their watering holes. But now the death toll is 91 and still rising. Massive bones, some already bleached by the blistering sun in the Hwange National Park, litter the...

How Recorded Tiger Growls Might Help Elephants

Playback could keep them away from crops and deadly confrontations

(Newser) - The growls of tigers—though not the tigers themselves—might become more common near farms in India if the results of a new study are put into place. As National Geographic explains, researchers discovered that recordings of tiger growls caused Asian elephants to quickly retreat during night forages. This could...

Poachers Kill 41 Elephants With Poison

Six arrests made in Zimbabwe

(Newser) - Awful story from Zimbabwe, where poachers killed 41 elephants by poisoning their water holes, reports the Zimbabwe Chronicle . Police have arrested six men and recovered 17 tusks worth about $120,000. It's the nation's worst case of elephant poaching, reports the BBC . Tests are expected to confirm that...

Worst for Wildlife: Vietnam
 Worst for Wildlife: Vietnam 
Jul 23, 2012 8:07 AM CDT

Worst for Wildlife: Vietnam

New WWF report ranks China second, Laos third

(Newser) - Rhinos, tigers, and elephants don't fare so well in Vietnam: The Asian country is the worst when it comes to wildlife crime, says the WWF in its first report on the matter. Rhinos are in danger there because citizens believe the horns have medicinal value; legalized tiger farms also...

2011's Elephant Carnage: Tens of Thousands

Populations on decline across Africa, wildlife groups warn

(Newser) - The mass slaughter of elephants and rhinos in Africa by poachers has once again reached crisis levels, warns the world body that tracks endangered species. As many as tens of thousands of elephants were slaughtered by poachers last year alone, and the illegal trade in tusks and horns is "...

Thai Elephants' New Threat: Poachers After Their Meat

Some Asian cultures believe flesh will boost one's sexual prowess

(Newser) - A new gastronomic fad in Thailand is pushing the country's elephants a step closer to extinction. Poachers, who have historically hunted elephants to obtain their ivory tusks, are now killing the giant mammals and selling their trunks and sexual organs to be eaten as food, reports the AP . Consumption...

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