THE JUMBOS OF KENYA : The African elephant (Loxodanta africana)

                           
Elephants are the largest surviving mammals on land and are highly intelligent. A grown elephant can weigh about 4-6 tons with a length of 18-24 feet. The African elephant has a life span of 70 to 80 years and their gestation period is 22months. They are classified as African bush elephants and African forest elephants, these wonderful creatures communicate through sound and smell, touch, sight and are also able to do this over long distances by using infra sound. Elephants are herbivores and are usually found in savannas, forests, marshes and they prefer being around water sources.

     Their incisors grow into tusks and become very useful to them. Just like humans are left or right handed, they are either left or right tusked and the tusk they use regular is usually smaller as a result of wearing and tearing. Another useful part for an elephant is the trunk. The trunk is used for breathing, lifting water, grabbing objects among others.  The female elephants are known as cows and they usually live with their calves among other females in the herd while the bulls (males) prefer to live in isolation. Elephants are very strong and their skulls are resilient enough to withstand several collisions even the predators such as lions and hyenas keep a distance between them and only hunt down the young ones. The role they play in the eco -system is very important to other animals too. They help in influencing forest density which broadens the landscape; they make clearings in the canopies which create a favorable environment for other animals as well. Mostly when they reach the age of 15, they become ready to mate and the males leave the herd. If you meet a young elephant, try to be friendly to it, after ten years you will be surprised the big fellow will be happy to see his old friend back. Elephants have a very sharp memory and they don’t forget things easily.

       Studies show that Africa is the cradle of elephants and a majority of species are currently extinct. Deeper in the Congo basin some different types are found there and that is the pygmy elephants. Their environment and surroundings influence them to be that way because their natural predators are minimal. These elephants are a good source of revenue income in Kenya and the authorities have a taken a milestone in branding this destination successfully. Elephants need a lot of space for their survival and the resources they consume create human-elephant conflicts due to competition. Human activities hinder their survival too; many elephants have lost their ancient migratory routes due to increased human settlement and activities like construction of roads.  Several cases have been reported concerning elephants attacking villages, these scenarios are due because the rate of interference between the two has escalated however it can be controlled.

       Another saddening issue is the killing of elephants (poaching) which has caused a sharp decline in their population. The main course for this is their ivory and the ivory trade is illegal. It has been reported that the largest market of ivory trade is in Asia. When elephants are killed in East Africa they are mostly transported through the ports of Mombasa Kenya and Tanzania to Asia. When seizures are carried out, the ivories are usually found in shipping containers concealed with other lawful cargo. Kenya has tightened her war against poaching but more is still needed to be done because the ivory demand is very high. About 800 elephants were killed last year, by 2006 their population was about 70000 and in 2011 were about 12500. Since the last count in 2011, 1500 elephants died in Tsavo national park alone and recent aerial census showed that the population is 11000 compared to the last.

    When elephants become extinct, other animals will be affected greatly and it’s going to be a big loss for Kenya because no tourists will come. It is a pleasant trip to visit them in the wild because we learn a lot and quench our thirst for adventure. Elephants are amazing; they can raise or lower their body temperatures in response to extreme environment conditions. Their wide ears act as umbrellas to shield them from the scorching sunlight. There are several destinations where one can go and see them and these are Tsavo East and Tsavo West, Chyulu hills national park, South Kitui national reserve, Mackinnon in Kwale, Taita ranches among others.

     Many young elephants are forced to become orphans and experience hardship in growing but thanks to the Kenya Wildlife Service for providing refuge and custody for them. There has been a good turnout for elephant protection programs from different organizations and this step brings a positive image to the society and helps in creating job opportunities since more rangers will be needed to be recruited. Elephants become sad when one of them dies; they show empathy whenever one arises and if these killings persist, studies and research points that they will become extinct by 2025. These animals are treasures and it is our responsibility to protect them, the government should tighten its stand against ivory trade and put all elephants in game reserves while monitoring them regularly. I think it will be a better idea if modern technology is applied in the protection of our jumbos, when we track each elephant by using GPS, then poachers will have a difficult time in executing their dirty work.

    There have been many reports especially in the news about seized ivory tusks in different parts within Kenya and most of these places are residential. Some poachers use rangers and policemen to help them smuggle these ivory without being noticed. If we really need to protect our elephants, we need to be committed to the fullest and the very first people to lead us are the law enforcers. Corruption is a cancer we must eradicate, our government should pay our rangers a good salary which will make them difficult to accept bribe. Whenever I see or hear about elephants being killed in Kenya, I become sad. I don’t wish them to become extinct; they are our heritage and rank our country in greater heights as far as wildlife is concerned. Let us come out in multitudes and oppose poaching through all means necessary, let us protect the African elephants and maintain our heritage for our children and our children’s children throughout generations. Otherwise if we fail we shall lose and will always live to regret and we are all aware that it is painful to regret.