Poaching threat rises in Botswana

JOHANNESBURG — Botswana, long viewed as a rare refuge for African elephants, is coming under increasing threat from poachers.

Poachers are killing elephants in the southern African country in growing numbers after wiping out large numbers of elephants in nearby Zambia and Angola, a conservation group said.

The Elephants Without Borders group and wildlife officials in Botswana have conducted half of a national elephant census and so far have counted nearly 90 “fresh and recent” carcasses of poached elephants, group director Mike Chase said in an email.

A similar census in 2014 found just nine carcasses, according to Chase.

Botswana’s government said Tuesday that there had been inaccurate reporting on elephant poaching. Some carcasses counted by Elephants Without Borders “were not poached but rather died from natural causes and retaliatory killings as a result of human and wildlife conflicts,” the government said.

The reported increase in elephant poaching in Botswana could reflect a trend in which poachers move into new territories as conditions become more difficult in regions where they usually operate.

The fight against elephant poaching has made some gains, including a ban on the ivory trade in China, the world’s biggest consumer. But experts say the rate of annual elephant losses still exceeds the birth rate, and the encroachment of human settlements is reducing the animals’ range.

Botswana’s security forces have also had a reputation — and faced criticism from neighboring countries — for allegedly being quick to open fire on suspected poachers, including Namibians and Zimbabweans who were killed after illegally crossing the border.

Poachers have targeted old bull elephants that presumably have the heaviest tusks, killing them when they go to drink at seasonal water sources, Chase said.