Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Nature and Animals



Kenya and Tanzania: The call of the wild!
What happened to the giants of the savana ?
They are called “ The Big Five “ ,  the five major trophies for hunters : rhino, lion, elephant , buffalo, leopard . They have almost disappeared.

The black rhinoceros : A miracle !
This animal has almost disappeared because of the traffic of its horns , which are sold worldwide . Today there are only 60 in the natural park of Kenya and the world , but according to WWF there are 3600 rhinos in the wild .

The lion : A too fragile  king
The lion is rare outside protected areas because they are hunted by poachers. Today there are probably 23.000 lions (in 2004) whereas there were 20 years ago.

The elephant : rescued in extremis

The elephant was killed around 1850, about 30.000 elephants were killed annually for their very precious ivory tusks .Today the sale of ivory is banned.

Buffalo : normally quiet
The African buffalo does not seem very threatened. Although there are many killed by diseases transmitted by domestic animals and regularly jogged by hunters, fortunately it is regulated in certain areas .

The Leopard : protected by its prudence
The most mysterious of the“ Big Five “. Difficult to observe , it lives in hiding. His hunting has been regulated since July 2007 , but some people illegally hunt.

written by Juliette