A herd of elephants flies from a Kent Zoo, which will be the first time worldwide, to start a new life in africa’s wild nature.
The organization of thirteen people, totaling 3 babies, will be transported more than 4,000 miles aboard a Boeing 747, nicknamed Dumbo jet, to the plains of Kenya.
The elephants, which weigh more than 25 tonnes in total, live in the Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, which is part of the Aspinall Foundation.
The conservation group’s communications director is environmental activist and prime minister Carrie Johnson’s wife, and she is speaking publicly for the first time since her marriage to Boris in May.
On behalf of the Aspinall Foundation, he joins its president Damian Aspinall in explaining why the time has come for larger land mammals to avoid living in captivity.
The first elephant arrived at this place in 1255, a gift from Louis IX of France to Henry III.
After nearly 8 centuries of animals living here in captivity, we plan to send the first herd of elephants back to the African continent.
For an absolute quality of life, those at Howletts Wild Animal Park enjoy some of the most idyllic situations of all the captive elephants in the world.
However, the Aspinall Foundation believes that these elephants can continue to live in better conditions.
And it’s in the wild, in Africa.
A life in Howletts in which those animals are well fed and have skilled guardians.
They have 8 acres to pass and the thirteen animals now constitute one of the most successful breeding herds in Europe.
No screen or TV clip can compare to an intimate, live view of the world’s largest land mammal, with its size, the domes of its head, the vast swaying of its trunk, and the sound of its feeding and feeding. respiration.
But is this explanation enough to keep elephants in captivity, just to our delight?
For decades, zoos have claimed that their captive populations are indispensable, not only for schooling and human enjoyment, but also for conservation.
It is a tragedy that, over the course of a century, humanity has wiped out 90% of Africa’s elephants and, unpleasantly, the demand for ivory continues.
With the fall in tourism and the pandemic, the pressure on housing (farmers and poachers) is expanding dramatically.
So, there are harsh, well-intentioned voices arguing that we want to keep a reserve for those endangered species, bars or fences, in zoos.
We at the Aspinall Foundation are not so sure, in fact, we know that it is incredibly preferable, as possible, for animals to be free, there is no doubt about the data.
It is a regrettable fact that elephants in captivity do not live as long as their counterparts in the wild despite the constant risk of poachers.
The half-life of an elephant in captivity is reported to be 16. 9 years, to 56 years for an elephant in a Kenyan park.
Another report shows that captive women have part of the life expectancy of women in the bush, while the mortality of young is twice as high in captivity.
It is believed that three-quarters of elephants in captivity are classified as overweight.
In their herbarium habitat, they can travel a hundred km in two days. In captivity, they have a tendency to suffer from arthritis and foot disorders related to a life of relative immobility.
There is enough tension and depression suffered by elephants in captivity, especially solitary beasts at a disadvantage from their herd mates.
After years of weighing the benefits and risks, we at the Aspinall Foundation have taken a decision on an unprecedented task and, indeed, a world first.
In collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, we are taking steps to bring those elephants back to Africa, where their species has evolved.
This is the first time a herd of breeding elephants has been reinsagrated.
There are two sites we are studying, in southern Kenya, where elephants roll in red powder.
The spaces are vast. Forage and foliage are abundant and it is the best country for elephants. The thirteen Howletts animals belong to two giant subgroups, but we intend to eliminate them back into a single family.
Of course, there are health hazards to elephants found in the counties of origin. There are lions and crocodiles, glosses and ticks.
But the Aspinall Foundation has been delighted with reseeding projects around the world, and Sheldrick Wildlife Trust will ensure there are gatekeepers in place to monitor and help with the transition.
We will use committed groups against poaching for newcomers and our zoologists are confident that the assignment will be successful.
Over time, their descendants will be hundreds, then thousands, and they will be a component of the incomparable ecosystem that is helping to bring Kenya’s tourism economy to life.
This will be a step for this country and for the conservation movement.
We firmly believe that this is the right timeframe for them, and other wildlife organizations increasingly share our views.
Life in Kent is smart for those elephants, all in all, but it’s Africa where they belong.
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