Elephants endangered ?

[SerendipityJane]

Mildly taken aback there are that many in the wild.

Personally I'd love 10,000 elephants in Hyde Park. (Mainly because it sounds like the start of a long lost Beatles song)

https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/21/botswana-threatens-send-10-000-elephants-hyde-park-trophy-hunting-row-20502931

Wouldn't it be grand if they did a deal like they did with the Ukrainians where we could all take in an elephant or twice

We could easily accommodate a small family of elephants.

I hate how people think all animals should be fearful of humans and that anything that hurts us should be eradicated. You can live harmoniously if you stop putting humans as the only priority.
Killing an animal for trophy use or because they might hurt someone is not OK. The reasons for attacks on humans needs to be looked at and people educated. Countries live with bears/lions/tigers/sharks and even polar bears who actively hunt humans. It can be done without the need of stuffing one and shoving it's head on a wall. If someone shot, stuffed and wall mounted a human there would rightly be uproar but doing so to an animal is ok?

Killing an animal for trophy use or because they might hurt someone is not OK.

How about culling to improve the health and prospects of the herd ? OK, the side effect may be it makes life easier for humans too, but that's not it's main driver.

Deer in the UK are a fucking menace for all sorts of reason. And deer herds benefit from culling (even in Richmond Park). Should I not enjoy venison ?

That said, senseless killing, just for trophies - not even food - isn't great, and I would judge.

Germanys turn

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-68715164

Reminds me of Carry On up the Khyber. "The more elephants a man has, the higher his standing"
"and the higher his rhubarb"

I think it’s an interesting point from the president of Botswana that they are expected to preserve these animals for the world but then they have to put up with them trampling all over stuff. Need to find a happy medium!

If nothing else. learning that there are 130,000 elephants in Botswana and that conservation is working (2 things I didn't know previously) should be a happy story.

And damnit, I want elephants in Hyde Park now

It’s a little bit like the rainforest isn’t it.
western countries scream and shout for this to be protected for our benefit and because it’s the right thing to do.
yet, we merrily chopped ours down, we wiped out our invasive animals as they got in the way. as a result, our economy benefited. Our housing standards improved.

when these countries want to do the same, we tell them they are wrong.

globally we need to get better at supporting each other, yet I can’t see that being feasible.