If All The African Elephants And Rhino Are Eventually Killed Off By Poachers...

[sandyRoe]

...would there be enough in captivity to sustain both species?

[sunny-dave]

Nope - the poachers would become extinct (after a long lingering death) I very much hope ...

[sandyRoe]

It would be a pity if they went the way of the mammoths so rich Chinese could have ivory trinkets.

[sunny-dave]

I agree Sandy - the poachers are vile, but without the demand from rich, morally bankrupt, Chinese the trade would no longer exist at a level that made poaching worthwhile.

[snags]

Tiger penis anyone?

[sunny-dave]

That's between you and your conscience ,snags, or perhaps between you and CD :+)

[snags]

Don't they now inject tusks/horns with dye (or another foreign substance) to make them pretty much useless to any poacher/buyer?

[TonyV]

Has Prince William already made his speech?

[wolf63]

I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty eating meat and being a animal lover. But I likeness. People eat cats and dogs - who am I to tell them they are wrong, if the animal has a good life when alive.

Somehow killing animals for this ivory or its coat seems distasteful. And when these beautiful animals are all gone what will they kill then?

When longhaired Merlin goes to moggie heaven her coat would make excellent slippers. She is downstairs, I think she may be in the huff about something. :-)

[wildwood]

African elephants are notoriously bad tempered and difficult to maintain in captivity, so I doubt it. Rhinos are easier to keep and can probably be saved, depending on how much funds are available.

Poaching may seem a cruel and stupid activity, but it is the only means of some native peoples to make a living, they only make a pittance in comparison to the finished product. Elephant meat was a common source of food in past days for many tribes. It is the Europeans who start huge cattle and produce farms that take up all the land which was the habitat of rhinos/elephants.

At the moment, the African Elephants are in no danger of extinction, in fact, they need to be culled occasionally in protected areas or they'll eat themselves out of food.

[woofgang]

In captivity, the issue is not the actual number of animals that are kept but the size of the gene pool. If you have got 1000 elephants in captivity but they are closely related that may not be as viable as having 200 unrelated elephants.