Thanks to the controversial approval of a one-off ivory sale, illegal trade in ivory has been reinvigorated - and 100 elephants a day are being slaughtered.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved a one-off elephant ivory auction in 2008 of 119 tons (108 tonnes) - representing over 10,000 dead elephants - and this decision is believed to have stimulated the growing illegal ivory market.
Kenyan and Ethiopian authorities have seized over 1,200 kilograms (2,600 pounds) of ivory - representing the killing of about 100 elephants.
Raids in the main airports of Kenya and Nairobi have netted two shipments of bloodstained tusks headed for Thailand. While the final destination is not known at the moment, these shipments may be part of the growing link between China and elephant poaching.
Despite the growing list of suspicious coincidences, a Chinese official has denied links between increased elephant killings in Kenya and a nearby influx of Chinese workers.
Recently, an increasing series of unfortunate events have suggested that Chinese workers in Kenya could be linked to a rise in elephant killings near these work sites. But according to an article in China Daily, there is no connection.
For the first time, Kenya Wildlife Service is introducing white rhino from Lake Nakuru National Park to Nairobi National Park.
Nairobi National Park will serve as a new home for ten white rhino, who are being translocated from drought-stricken Lake Nakuru National Park. The lack of water has depleted the grasses that make up the huge herbivores’ food source, and Lake Nakuru wildlife officials fear there is too much competition and not enough food for the grass-eating pachyderms.
In 2002, there were 2,749 lions in Kenya. Today, only about 2,000 exist. In an announcement earlier this week by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), conservationists warn that at the current rate of decline, lions in Kenya could face extinction within the next 20 years unless urgent action is taken.
