elephants

Collaring elephants in Kenya

Collaring elephants in Kenya

8 Photos

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is collaring two young male elephants from the Amboseli region to better understand their migration routes. As Kenya’s population increases dramatically every year more land traditionally used by elephants as routes is being populated and developed and elephants have been impacted. IFAW intends to study data from the collared elephants movements to plot how this impact affects them.

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Sri Lanka cracks down on illegal elephant ownership

Sri Lanka cracks down on illegal elephant ownership

9 Photos

For centuries, owning an elephant was seen by Sri Lanka’s Buddhist elite as a sign of prestige and authority. Many among the wealthy, who consider the animals to be divine, have long flouted laws against elephant ownership to keep a jumbo chained up in their back yard. But with illegal capture helping to drive wild populations into steep decline, the government is now cracking down, seizing the animals and launching criminal investigations against elite members of society, including a monk and a judge. Even as the country cracks down on illegal ownership, the enduring demand for elephants has the government planning to set up its own pool of captive animals to be hired out to temples for ceremonies and maintained with budget funds.
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Tracking elephants and other large mammals in Africa

Tracking elephants and other large mammals in Africa

18 Photos

Kenyan and Tanzanian governments started a joint aerial count of elephants and other large mammals in the shared ecosystem of the Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro and Natron-Magadi landscape. The one-week exercise, which started Oct. 7 and costs $104,000 dollars, is a collaboration between the two countries and the Kenya Wildlife Service, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and the African Wildlife Foundation, among others.

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May 30 Photo Brief: Gay marriage in France, grandparents of slain British soldier visit site of murder and creepy crawlers

May 30 Photo Brief: Gay marriage in France, grandparents of slain British soldier visit site of murder and creepy crawlers

20 photos

Gay marriages take place in France, a spider farm in Chile, the grandparents of slain British soldier, Lee Rigby, visit the site of the murder and more in today’s daily brief.
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May 24 Photo Brief: Saddam’s torture masks, self-immolating monks, baby animals and Buddah’s birthday celebration continues

May 24 Photo Brief: Saddam’s torture masks, self-immolating monks, baby animals and Buddah’s birthday celebration continues

26 photos

Baby animals continue to be adorable, torture devices from Saddam Hussein’s regime go on exhibit at the Martyrs Monument in Baghdad, Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Bowatte Indaratane self-immolates in protest of cattle slaughter, Buddhists continue the annual celebration of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death and more in today’s daily brief.

ATTENTION: VISUAL COVERAGE OF INJURY SCENES
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April 12 Photo Brief: Fire, flooding, poverty, Merkel muffins and bird flu

April 12 Photo Brief: Fire, flooding, poverty, Merkel muffins and bird flu

20 photos

Angela Merkel muffins served in Germany, poverty continues its devastating toll in India, the volcanic Mount Etna erupts in Italy, poultry production ramps up rapid testing for H7N9 in China and more in today’s daily brief.

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Lunching with the elephants

Lunching with the elephants

15 photos

Five elephants, stars of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, had “brunch” at Lexington Market this afternoon after marching up Eutaw Street under a crisp blue sky. They dined on bananas, lettuce and watermelons and were cheered by scores of excited spectators who crowded the market’s parking lot.

The elephants were joined by several circus clowns and an emcee in an effort to promote the “Dragons” circus show which runs through this weekend.
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Feb. 15 Photo Brief: Lemon festival in France, Knut on display in Germany, chewable art in Ukraine

Feb. 15 Photo Brief: Lemon festival in France, Knut on display in Germany, chewable art in Ukraine

20 photos

Since his untimely death in 2011, the hand-reared polar bear Knut returns to Berlin as a life-sized model with the bear’s real fur, the 80th Lemon festival in France creates a citrus-infused ‘Around The World In 80 Days’ wonderland, a Ukrainian artist paints with chewing gum and more in today’s daily brief.

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