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An elephant killed every 15 minutes

An elephant killed every 15 minutes

Date: 2013-10-25
Take a deep breath, close your eyes and come with me to Africa, come with me to the 27th of October 2012; I want you to meet a matriarch, her name is Qumquat. She was born in 1968. She is a mother, a grandmother and an archive of knowledge. Her wisdom is deep; She knows where to find water and food in difficult times and knows when the river runs too deep and too strong to cross. 

She has walked many miles on ancient pathways and is the keeper of secrets that Earth has shared. Secrets that are stories, stories she tells her children, stories they understand.

Nick Brandt is a renowned wildlife photographer, on the 27th of October 2012, he came across Qumquat, she was walking with her two daughters Qantina and Quaye, their young and other kin. Quamqut stood a few feet away from him, trusting, relaxed and generous; she let him take her picture as well as those of her daughters, and their children.

24 hours later, in the late afternoon of October 28th, the crack of a heavy rifle shattered the air, gunshots, several of them, one following another, thundered through African skis. Rangers on the boarder between Tanzania and Kenya rushed to the scene, only to be fired at by poachers, causing them to retreat.

A frantic search the next day found Qumquat, Qantina and Quaye. They had been killed; their faces cut away, their ivory gone. Of the three younger children left, two are missing, of these, the youngest, just six month's old is surely dead, too young to survive on its own, but Quanza - about 1 year old had stood vigil over the body of her dead mother all night, deeply traumatized she was rescued by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and has her home there until she is re-introduce into the wild.

Qumquat was one of Amboseli's oldest and gentlest matriarchs her loss was devastating, thousands like her are being killed every year, each of them with children, each of them with families, each of them with a story - all for ivory trinkets.

One elephant is killed every 15 minutes. At this rate in ten years there will be no elephants. Considering our Rhinos are extremely endangered 750 killed already this year, in 10 years we may only be Big 3 in Africa - very sad! 

In silent protest white flowers will be placed outside the Chinese Embassy at 45 Stirling Crescent Durban North, it will start at 9am on Sunday 27th October - the last day Qumquat was alive. The public is welcome to place white flowers all day on a lawn outside the grounds. This is all in very respectful and peaceful exercise to raise awareness to the plight of our gentle giants.