Climate Crisis is Killing 20 Times More Elephants than Poachers in Kenya

THINK

Aug 12

As the country’s worst drought in forty years dries out rivers, watering holes, and grasslands, more than 179 elephants have already succumbed to dehydration and starvation.

The climate crisis is now a bigger threat to elephants than poaching, according to Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.

Official figures reveal that the country's current drought - its worst in forty years - is killing 20 times more elephants than poaching.

Kenya is home to around 36,000 elephants, with the adults requiring around 300 pounds of food and more than 50 gallons of water per day. But as rivers, watering holes, and grasslands continue to dry up as a result of the extreme temperatures, many of the elephants are perishing.

“We expect so many miscarriages of these elephants, and we have seen them before,” Jim Nyamu, a Kenyan elephant research scientist, told BBC News. “Those calves that will manage to be born, their chances of survival will be limited.”

Tsavo National Park, one of the world's largest parks, has seen the deaths of 179 elephants in the last eight months alone. In contrast, poaching has killed less than ten elephants during the same time period.

“It is a red alarm,” Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, told BBC News. “The time is ripe to discuss climate change.”

African elephants are heavily poached for their tusks, despite an international trade ban on ivory, which has been in place since 1989. In recent years, Kenyan officials have cracked down on poaching by introducing stricter penalties against those involved, including traders and financiers. This initiative has had a hugely positive impact on wildlife populations.

However, despite the strides made in combating poaching, environmental issues have been overlooked according to Balala. "We have neglected to invest in biodiversity management and ecosystems," he said. "All of our investments have gone into illegal wildlife trade and poaching."

An estimated four million people across Kenya are suffering from severe malnutrition or at risk of starvation due to the drought, with farmers losing up to 70 per cent of their crops. Nearly 2.5 million cows, pigs, chickens and other animals used for food have died from food and water shortages. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has pledged $255 million to Kenya to support the country’s efforts to tackle the devastating effects of the drought.

As Kenya and other parts of East Africa continue to fight the drought, other parts of the world including the United Kingdom and the United States are also experiencing unprecedented heat levels and water shortages, with scientists warning that they will only become more common as the climate crisis intensifies.

What Can You Do?

Elephants aren’t the only animal being being affected by extreme weather conditions. The rising temperatures are having a knock on effect across nature, from the fish who can only survive in cool waters that have died in staggering numbers in recent years to sea turtles whose reproduction has been impacted, resulting in vastly imbalanced gender ratios.

The production of animal-based foods is devastating for the environment. It has the highest environmental footprint of all foods in regards to water degradation, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the pollution of terrestrial and aquatic systems.

As the human population continues to expand and adopt diets rich in meat, eggs, and dairy, experts say it’s highly unlikely that global warming will be kept below 2°C, (global leaders have committed to limit the global average temperature rise to well below 2°C). In fact, even if fossil fuel emissions were eliminated immediately, emissions from the global food system alone would make it impossible to limit warming to 1.5°C and difficult even to realize the 2°C target.

What we eat matters. The most powerful thing we can do as individuals to help curb the climate crisis and protect the animals, humans, and the planet we all share is to adopt a plant-based diet.

To help you embrace vegan living, we recommend taking our free 7-Day Challenge here. Or you can download our free starter kit here.

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