[TriLUG] GoDaddy CEO shoots elephant...

[Joseph Mack NA3T]

On Fri, 1 Apr 2011, Joseph S. Tate wrote:

> The population of elephants in some parts of Africa is so large that
> even the WWF thinks that culling is a reasonable tool for managing
> population size[1].  Zimbabwe's population is huge, at 88000 in
> 2002[2] and 100,000 in 2009[3].  We should be happy that conservation
> efforts for elephants have been so successful.

There are two points of discussion here

o Was Bob Parson's killing taken after careful consideration 
of all possible actions and to make the lives of the 
Zimbabwean peasants better (his stated reason for killing 
the elephant)?

I can do something about that. I can at least publically 
deplore his actions.

o what to do about the increase in elephant population. 
There's not much I can do here. However we should be 
informed while others go about finding a solution.

 	o the elephant population is in dispute. The 100k 
figure is from the govt wanting to be allowed to trade 
ivory. The number is 60k by other groups.

http://www.africanconservation.org/forum/hunting-.....-conservation/9445-zimbabwe-hope-for-zim/cites-trade-agreement-dim.html

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/dinasaur2.11631.html

There hasn't been a cummulative elephant count for 7 yrs, so 
possibly no-one knows.

Still there's no doubt that the elephant population in 
Zimbabwe has increased enormously in the last 100yrs (Graham 
Child former director Zimbabwe Nat Parks).

http://www.zimconservation.com/PDFs/Opinion1-Child.pdf

However the Zimbabwe contribution to the African elephant 
population is small, there having been several M elephants 
in Africa in 1900 but only 700k now. The population of 
African Bush Elephant halved in the 1980s and without 
conservation measures was expected to go extinct by 1995.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Bush_Elephant#Predators

 	o Since 1960, the human population of Zimbabwe has 
about doubled (estimate from graph at

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_grow&idim=country:ZWE&dl=en&hl=en&q=zimbabwe+population+growth
)

 	Why are the elephants the problem? The elephants 
were there first, before humans put gardens in the middle of 
their habitat. The elephants aren't killing people and are 
showing great forbearance.

 	o None of the webpages look for an explanation for 
the sudden elephant population increase. Presumably 
something was keeping them in check and it's gone. What's 
happened to the predators that used to keep the elephant 
population down? Lions can take out a young, weak or old 
elephant. The population of lions in Africa has halved since 
1950.

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/lion.php

The Barbary Lion (N Africa) is extinct.

http://www.african-lion.org/res3.htm

Presumably the situation is similar for other predators. 
Maybe all Zimbabwe needs to handle the elephant problem is 
more lions, leopards, and hyenas

Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack NA3T EME(B,D), FM05lw North Carolina
jmack (at) wm7d (dot) net - azimuthal equidistant map
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