ELEPHANTS- Culling

The sounds we’re listening to are being made by an African Elephant, the largest land mammal on Earth. At one time, elephants were common in sub-Saharan Africa– these days humans and elephants are finding it harder to coexist, leading some African countries to develop programs which systematically kill elephants. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

“There is an old practice for reducing herds of elephants in areas where elephants are abundant or reproducing quickly and where their land is surrounded by humans so they can’t expand. And this management practice is called culling. It’s basically massacres of family groups of elephants. Both in order to reduce their numbers and in order to get money for whatever purposes the government may have, including supporting national parks.”

Katy Payne is the author of Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants.

“It is important to a herd of elephants what another herd is experiencing. If they find that there’s trouble they go in that direction to help their close relatives. It means that in the aftermath of a destruction of family members, elephants, which do indeed have good memories, suffer and continue to suffer and fear and continue to fear.”

One alternative to culling might be some form of elephant birth control. It’s an option that’s being explored by several research groups in areas where elephant populations have grown too large.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

ELEPHANTS- Culling

In recent years, African elephants and people have found it difficult to coexist.
Air Date:05/14/1999
Scientist:
Transcript:

The sounds we're listening to are being made by an African Elephant, the largest land mammal on Earth. At one time, elephants were common in sub-Saharan Africa-- these days humans and elephants are finding it harder to coexist, leading some African countries to develop programs which systematically kill elephants. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

"There is an old practice for reducing herds of elephants in areas where elephants are abundant or reproducing quickly and where their land is surrounded by humans so they can't expand. And this management practice is called culling. It's basically massacres of family groups of elephants. Both in order to reduce their numbers and in order to get money for whatever purposes the government may have, including supporting national parks."

Katy Payne is the author of Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants.

"It is important to a herd of elephants what another herd is experiencing. If they find that there's trouble they go in that direction to help their close relatives. It means that in the aftermath of a destruction of family members, elephants, which do indeed have good memories, suffer and continue to suffer and fear and continue to fear."

One alternative to culling might be some form of elephant birth control. It's an option that's being explored by several research groups in areas where elephant populations have grown too large.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.