Desert elephants not only face the reality of a harsh living environment which in itself brings the herds daily struggles, but they have for many years now come into conflict with humans as they vie for the same land and water resources. Human encroachment has, unfortunately, had indirect consequences also, a recent incident highlighted an important issue that concerns not only elephants but all wildlife in the region - the increasing problem of snare use in Namibia.
Last week, the Desert Elephants in Namibia team received a worrying call from a concerned tourist. A baby elephant had been spotted with a snare wire tightly wrapped around its trunk, the photographs showed that the calf was significantly injured as a result. A collaborative effort was made by the project team and desert elephant researchers Dr R. Ramey and Dr L. MacAlister Brown, to locate this particular herd and find out if the calf was still alive.
(Photo credit: Fabien Kaderk)
The team left on Monday morning travelling to the Palmwag region and reported back late Tuesday that they had located the family of the elephants, the calf was alive and doing well considering the situation. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) did not hesitate to send esteemed veterinarian Dr Axel Hartmann to assess the calf, the MEFT were prepared to send whatever resource necessary to help the herd including a helicopter.
After close observation and careful consideration, Dr Hartmann determined that the injury had healed and that in time, the rest of the trunk will naturally fall off. As the calf seemed well and used to the disability already, collectively it was decided that intervention would cause unnecessary stress and trauma on the herd. In extreme instances, human involvement may cause the herd to abandon the baby. The Desert Elephants in Namibia team will continue to monitor the family and the baby elephant, reporting on how the calf copes and adapts to life with this disability.
(Photo credit: Fabien Kaderk)
Whilst trunks are an essential body part, many elephants learn to survive and adapt to life with trunk injuries. Smelling should not be impaired and drinking will only be slightly less effective than usual, the issues that may arise for injured elephants of this kind may be the stripping of tree bark or picking up small food items. Though, known for their bonded family units, elephants are known to help weaker or injured members of the herd. The project team knew a confident bull elephant with a similar trunk injury that thrived in the wild which breeds hope that this small calf will go on to lead a relatively normal life.
Snare traps are usually used to procure bush meat which already puts pressure on predator’s food sources, as well as becoming an increasing threat to many vulnerable and endangered animals. African bush elephant populations are decreasing every day and the desert elephants in Namibia are already minimal in numbers, even though they form an essential part of a balanced desert ecosystem. They are known to dig for water which is then available to other animals and during the short rainy season, they are said to help along with seed dispersal as their deep footprints provide an ideal environment for seedlings to grow.
This unfortunate and unnecessary snare incident has had a relatively lucky outcome but for many animals, snare traps are a death sentence and threaten already delicately balanced ecosystems. This saddening event has further highlighted the increasing issue of snare use which needs to be addressed, alongside the growing demand for African bushmeat.
