Carcass of female elephant found in Dhenkanal village

Dhenkanal: In yet another case of elephant death in the state, a female elephant was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Similipatna near Ichhapur village under Sadar Forest Range in Dhenkanal district on Monday.

The pachyderm, aged around 12 years was spotted by some residents of Ballabh Sahi early in the morning, who informed forest officials immediately.

A team led by Dhenkanal DFO and comprised of forest officials of Sadar Range reached the spot and conducted the preliminary investigation later in the morning. They have suspected that the jumbo could have died due to electrocution. The animal was also appeared to be pregnant from the physical structure, they added.

Forest officials have launched a drive to disperse an elephant herd which was seen at a distance of at least 500 meters from the spot where the dead jumbo was found.


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Australian MPs to Probe Links to Illegal Ivory Trade

SYDNEY —

A parliamentary inquiry in Australia is investigating whether the domestic and legal trade in ivory is contributing to the deaths of thousands of African elephants each year.

Members of parliament are investigating if lax regulations are allowing recently poached ivory to be passed off as antiques in Australia. It is illegal to import ivory into Australia, but there are concerns black market ivory is being smuggled into the country.

Campaigners argue there is clear evidence poachers have been using Australia to offload elephant tusks from the illicit trade in ivory into the legitimate art market.

In the past decade, more than 320 imported and 79 exported items made of ivory have been confiscated by Australian authorities.

Labor Senator Lisa Singh is part of the investigating parliamentary committee.

"I think, ultimately, Australians don't want to be contributing to this ongoing trade of rhino and ivory in our country, knowing full well that that leads to the deaths of thousands of elephants and rhinos across the globe," she said.

Britain, the United States, the European Union and China have all limited their domestic trades of ivory and rhino horn in recent years. Australia's parliamentary inquiry will look at a range of options, including a total ban on the sale of all ivory and horn items.

The UK has made exemptions for rare and important items more than 100 years old and for other pieces of art that contain only small amounts of ivory.

It is a move that Australia should follow, said Patricia Anderson, a gallery owner.

"What happens when a family wants to sell grandma's piano with the ivory keys? What happens when someone wants to sell granddad's walking stick, or Aunt Flo's chess set?," she said.

It is estimated that 55 African elephants are killed by poachers each day for their tusks.

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Poachers Killing Elephants, Their Protectors in Northern Cameroon

GAROUA, CAMEROON —

Cameroon says a wave of attacks by armed elephant poachers has killed at least eight soldiers and rangers in a northern national park. The poachers killed elephants too, further shrinking the population of the increasingly endangered animals.

A decomposing carcass of an elephant without its tusks lies in Cameroon's Bouba Ndjida national park some 17 kilometers from the border with Chad.

Forest ranger Lamza Abdoulahi says two of his colleagues were killed less than a week ago by heavily armed poachers. It was just one of several attacks within the past month.

The ranger, Abdoulahi, said the poachers invaded Cameroon through its northern border with Chad, killed so many elephants and people who tried to resist and then escaped across the border before military reinforcement could come.

He said the rangers' old weapons, like the rusty rifle he carries, are no match for the poaching gangs. Village self-defense groups protecting the park have just machetes and spears.

Jean Abate, governor of the north region of Cameroon where Bouba Ndjida is located, said eight soldiers and forest rangers as well as several members of village self-defense groups have been killed.

He said the government of Cameroon has taken energetic measures to stop the attackers. He said the protection of Cameroon's territorial integrity and all of its resources must be assured to secure the population and prevent a mass killing of elephants like what happened in 2012 when the park lost 200 of the majestic animals.

In 2012, officials reported incursions by Sudanese and Chadian poachers armed with machine guns and also operating in gangs on horseback. Prior to that year, Bouba Ndjida was home to an estimated 1,000 elephants. Conservation groups say the park lost at least 400 elephants in 2012, double the government estimate.

Eric Kaba, of the international conservation group the Last Great Ape, said Cameroon is not alone. Vast numbers of elephants in Africa have been slaughtered to feed consumer demand for ivory in Asian countries.

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China restricts deadly elephant tranquilizer carfentanil

The Chinese police seize fentanyl substances in July, 2015 during the first case of fentanyl trafficking in the country.

China is to restrict the deadly elephant tranquilizer carfentanil and three related opioids from the beginning of next month.

The four "new psychoactive substances", namely, carfentanil, Furan fentanyl, Acrylamide fentanyl, and oxalyl fentanyl, are also known as lab drugs that are potent enough to prove fatal in small doses.

Deng Ming, deputy director from China's anti-drug office, said among the drugs, carfentanil is particularly potent.

"Carfentanil is a typical fentanyl substance and is capable of medicating pain. It's 1,000 times more potent than morphine, able to kill an adult with two milligrammes. It's more powerful than other fentanyl varieties," said Deng.

Carfentanil has also been used as a chemical weapon and described as a terrorist threat.

US has accused China of being the top source of fentanyls in North America, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration called the current ban a potential "game-changer" that is likely to reduce supply of key chemicals driving a surge of overdoses and deaths among unsuspecting drug users.

The process of the action only cost four months, while similar cases can take nine months. The high efficiency, according to an AP report, is partly due to the pressure from the US.

Domestically, the abuse of fentanyl is not wide yet on rise in China, with 22 instant products seized by the police in entertainment venues in Yunnan, Hubei, and Liaoning provinces throughout 2016.

People dealing with the new psychoactive substances are usually professionals with knowledge in medicine, chemistry, and even international law, which makes it difficult to combat drug trafficking in this regard.

To handle the challenge, the anti-drug office said they will establish a national standard substance bank to collect information and help people identify new psychoactive substances.

Up to now, China has restricted 134 kinds of the new psychoactive substances.

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Two Zim baby elephants die before shipment to China

Cape Town - Thirty seven baby elephants forcibly taken from their mothers in the wild in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park are about to be flown to Chinese zoos, despite an international outcry against previous exports

A number of baby elephants from similar shipments in 2012 and 2015 died shortly after arrival and two of the elephants now awaiting shipment have already died, says the Conservation Action Trust.

In 2012, only four elephants of the eight survived the journey and another three died shortly after arriving in China, leaving only one lonely survivor. In September 2015, National Geographic reported that elephants from a shipment in China were being mistreated and were slipping into poor health.

Export of elephants is sanctioned under Cites regulations, as long as trade in individual animals doesn't threaten the long-term survival of the species.

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