Competing for space and resources

Animal welfare activists have fired the first shots in a new battle to prevent the culling of Africa's expanding elephant populations. At South Africa's Addo Elephant
National Park, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has spent around $2 million buying neighbouring farmland to extend the park's elephant habitat to around 15,000 hectares from 11,000
hectares.

The extra space is needed to accommodate its growing elephant population, which currently stands at 317. There is a string attached to the cash · IFAW has insisted that no elephants be killed in the
park through culling operations to keep a lid on numbers.

The expansion is the first phase in a long-term plan to expand Addo all the way to the coast. The park will then cover 402,700 hectares, which will make it the third largest conservation area in
southern Africa. "There are alternatives to culling and this is one,'' said Sarah Scarth, IFAW's country director for South Africa.

Some conservationists say that while the gesture is a good one that will reap economic benefits for poor rural communities through increased tourism, land purchases to enlarge elephant habitat cannot
go on forever. They argue that with a growing and mostly poor rural human population competing for space and resources, the issue of culling will eventually have to be faced, even at Addo.

Other activists are following IFAW's example. The Wildlife Action Group (WAG), which vehemently opposes hunting, is attempting to raise 1.5 million rand ($240,000) for a poor black community living
in the north of South Africa's Kruger National Park to prevent it from giving wealthy tourists a crack at hunting the famed park's elephants.

Two years ago the 11,000-strong Makuleke were given 30,000 hectares · which they manage jointly with the park · as compensation for their forced removal in 1969.

The community has said it wants to allow foreigners this year to come and hunt two elephants and two buffalo in a bid to raise badly needed money, prompting WAG to make its cash offer.

Other conservationists see nothing wrong with hunting, arguing that elephants in South Africa, with its relatively effective anti-poaching policies, are not endangered.

They argue that big game hunters bring in more cash than game viewing tourists · an elephant hunt and trophy costs in the range of $60,000 · and say that the meat can be utilised to put dinner on the
tables of poor rural families.

"Resource utilisation'' is the battle-cry of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, three southern African countries that are seeking permission to hold annual ivory auctions · taken from elephants that die
from natural causes. They held "one-off'' ivory sales last year after a decade-long ban. South Africa is seeking permission at the 11th conference on the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species in Nairobi in April to sell some ivory. Kenya and a number of conservation groups, including IFAW, are staunchly opposed to the resumption of ivory sales, saying they have led to a
rise in poaching incidents.

The ban is credited with stemming a slaughter that saw Africa's elephant population plunge from 1.3 million to about 600,000 in the decade before legal ivory sales were halted. The population,
especially in southern Africa, has been on the rebound since, prompting the recent debate about culling and habitat expansion. Animal welfare activists say that adding habitat is just one of the
alternatives that can be used to stop elephants from being culled with high-powered rifles. Relocating elephants from areas where they have eaten themselves out of house and home is one. But like
habitat expansion, it only buys time for the elephants. Addo's 317 elephants are expected to double in number in the next 14 years.

So scientists are experimenting with contraception. "Experiments in elephant contraception are in their infant stages, but immuno injections, which prevent sperm penetration without upsetting
hormones, look more promising than the hormonal implant, which may cause behavioural problems,'' said IFAW's Jason Bell.

Bell said a place like Addo, with its small elephant population, was the ideal location to use contraception. Addo is an ideal place just to watch elephants.

A lack of poaching has made the animals · which all descend from 11 elephants herded into the park when it was proclaimed in 1931 · comfortable in the close presence of humans.