- Title: MALI: Elephants dying in worst drought for 26 years
- Date: 11th June 2009
- Summary: LAKE BANZENA, GOURMA REGION, MALI (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Tamachek) ABOUBAR AG GERHIR, TOUAREG HERDER, SAYING : "Usually we don't have any problems with the elephants, but with the drought the situation becomes more difficult, because all animals are thirsty, they come together at the same water pond and often the elephants chase the other animals."
- Embargoed: 26th June 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Mali
- Country: Mali
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Nature / Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA6VD7CJ1ZK3NABHQ3DA33NYE56
- Story Text: Mali's Lake Bezena, on the edge of the Sahara desert has for thousands of years been home to Africa's most northerly elephant herd - the desert elephants.
Mali's desert elephants have adapted to drought conditions, and every year they walk around 1,000 km in a circular pattern, following rains in Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso, in search of scarce water resources.
Now, ongoing drought conditions that experts say are the worst in a quarter of a century have dried up Lake Banzena, one of the central water points on the elephants' migration cycle. Their survival is also threatened by the competition over the scarce water resources with cattle herds owned by nomadic Tuareg herdsmen.
By late May this year, Lake Banzena had almost dried up, leaving only a few pools of muddy water. With no water available in the surrounding area, thousands of cattle, sheep and goats all descend to the lake basin, coexisting alongside a herd of some 50 elephants.
The normal peaceful coexistence between the elephants and herdsmen is starting to break-down and giving way to conflict over access to water
"Usually we don't have any problems with the elephants, but with the drought the situation becomes more difficult, because all animals are thirsty, they come together at the same water pond and often the elephants chase the other animals," said Aboubar Ag Gerhir, a Tuareg herder.
Mali's Forestry Department, working with financing from Biodiversity, an international environmental NGO, was able to establish two water pumps to help the elephants' survival, but that water source quickly attracted domestic herds of cattle.
Wildlife experts say the elephants' migrating pattern has become more erratic since the drought has started to hit the herd, as the young elephants started to die. Older elephants are able to get on their knees and reach inside deeper water holes with their trunks.
In soaring temperatures, reaching 50 degrees Celsius the stench of rotting corpses fills the air as elephants and cattle alike fall victims to the climate and what little water remains is putrid and undrinkable by any standards.
"This year there's no water. Most of the time elephants drank the stale water, mud really," explained El Mehdi Doumbia, forestry officer.
The rainy season, which usually starts at the beginning of June, should bring some respite. An approaching sandstorm recently signalled some rain further south, and the elephant herd followed it.
"Luckily last night we received a rain shower about 40-60 kilometres south of here and the elephants now left the lake, because there is nothing, and they've headed south and hopefully will find water, but it may be only a few days before they return," explained Jake Wall, a researcher for Save the Elephants organisation.
Save The Elephants has installed another pump as well as some concrete drinking troughs and hopes the measures will be enough to save the herd. But as temperatures around the world heat up and marginal conditions like these grow intolerable, even venerable great beasts like the elephant could be on the way out. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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