One of the largest “tusker” elephants ever seen in Zimbabwe has been shot dead by a hunter. The man had a permit to hunt and was accompanied by an experienced professional hunter who told The Telegraph on Friday he had already shipped the tusks to Germany, having had them stamped by Zimbabwe’s National Parks Authority and filled in the relevant export forms.
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The image of the downed elephant, which is believed to have been between 40 to 60 years old, has prompted more outrage from conservationists and animal rights proponents.
Conservationists said the elephants tusks, which weigh 60 pounds each, were so large they dragged along the ground.
Hunters – put on the backfoot after the illegal slaughter of Cecil the Lion – were hailing the kill as one of the best trophies in decades as pictures of the dead elephant began to emerge on social media.
The professional hunter who was escorting Palmer is now facing only minor charges, which will likely result in fines that are still expressed in Zimbabwean dollars.
Fundira said that SOAZ believed that the animal should have been treated as a “national treasure” rather than killed.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe National Parks has called for stiffer penalties for poachers following the discovery on Tuesday of 26 more elephant carcasses that died of cyanide poisoning at two different locations in the Hwange National Park.
The hunt that killed this elephant was completely legal.
And, they note, the hunt was legal.
The hunt was conducted legally, with the hunter paying a reported $60,000 for a permit.
Poaching and hunting are a huge threat to elephant populations. It’s not uncommon for hunters to spend $100,000 each trip.
“Trophy hunting isn’t like normal hunting”, he said.
Bronkhorst said collared lions were shot in Zimbabwe every year, adding that five such big cats had been killed in 2015.
African elephants are considered vulnerable but not endangered, according to the global Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
One dissenter, however, said online: “Maybe I am not a elephant guy – one who likes to hunt/kill em”.
Gonarezhou means “place of many elephants”, according to the park’s website.
This week, Walter Palmer, the American dentist who shot Cecil the lion, had all the charges against him dropped.
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The elephant is thought to be the largest killed in Zimbabwe in more than 30 years.
