Poaching Interrupted

Joseph, a Cameroonian elephant collared some years ago by the team which includes NC Zoo lead vet Mike Loomis, has been confirmed killed by poachers. The good news is that they failed to take his tusks or meat. This may bode well for other elephants in Cameroon. It is believed that the poachers, seeing Joseph's high-tech satellite and radio collar, thought that they had been identified by the collar and fled without their "prize". LINK

"Dr. Mike" works with the Cameroonian government, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the NC Zoo Society and others to help track the paths of elephant herds in Cameroon. When elephant herds make trips out of reserves, as they often do, the result can be catostrophic to elephants and humans. Crops are often destroyed. Next, sometimes, so are the elephants.

Tracking can help determine ways to minimize elephant/human interaction of this kind.