Elephant conservation news 06-12 March 2010
East African nations have apparently offered an ultimatum to the EU - pledging to vote in favour of proposals to safeguard bluefin tuna in return for European support for the ivory trade ban.
However, if the EU refuses to come out against proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to sell their 110-tonne-plus stockpile, the union will not get support from the African Elephant Coalition countries to protect fish stocks, according to Reuters.
The news agency said that a leaked letter from the 23 country-strong African group made clear the quid pro quo offer to European ambassadors, who met last Friday to decide their position ahead of the major international Conference of the Parties in Doha, which begins on 13 March.
This event, organised by the Convention on International Trade on endangered Species (CITES), has seen high passions aroused. The majority of the African Elephant Coalition - led by Kenya - have come out against the proposals to relax a 2007 moratorium on trade that would reclassify the Tanzanian and Zambian stockpiles, allowing them to be sold.
According to Reuters, the letter read: "Please do not force our collective hand to cast our 23 votes against the EU on any of the issues it is supporting such as, for example, the high-profile proposed ban on bluefin tuna."
Alongside the proposals for a total ban on the international trade in bluefin tuna, measures are also set to protect an increased range of sharks. However, Japan - which consumes up to 80% of the world's bluefin catch - has made clear its intention to keep eating the highly-prized fish, effectively ignoring international consensus. There are no mechanisms to actively punish the country, should it decide to go its own way.
Meanwhile, those nations which promote the sale of ivory argue that the proceeds could be used to bolster conservation measures within their borders.
Baby elephant 'cheats death' at Sydney zoo
A baby Asian elephant which was given up as dead before birth has emerged from the womb weak but alive.
The Herald Sun reported that Taronga Zoo staff in Sydney had originally given the male calf up for dead - and had even announced as much to the media - but were stunned when he emerged from a highly unusual birthing position to cling on to life. Instead of being born back feet-first to mother Porntip, the petite pachyderm was born both upside-down and head-first.
Earlier this week experts had given up on the calf, declaring that it would be a miracle if he survived.
And there is no guarantee yet that the animal, who was conceived through artificial insemination, will make it through his first few weeks. Zoo director Cameron Kerr said the events were "incredible", but warned that "the young calf still has a long way to go".
"Our vets are now working to determine the possible effects of the protracted labour on the calf," he added.
"There are no guarantees of its long-term survival at this early stage but we hope that its birth against the odds will stand it in good stead."
Earlier this week a report in the Sydney Morning Herald confidently claimed that Porntip - whose name means "gift from heaven" - had communicated the death of her unborn calf to the herd at the zoo through a "low subsonic rumble, entirely inaudible to human ears" which "drifted out across Sydney Harbour, heralding the tragic news".
Gay the elephant dies at Paignton Zoo
An Asian elephant that had lived at Paignton Zoo since the Queen's silver Jubilee has been put down, after struggling to overcome foot abscesses.
Zoo staff said they reached the difficult decision after the abscesses - which had originally affected Gay's front feet in 2008 - spread to all four, leaving her wearing special shoes, the BBC reported.
Director of operations and mammals curator Neil Bemment said that vets and other staff had done "absolutely everything they could".
"It was not an easy decision but it was the right decision," he added.
