It would seem that South Africa is not the only country facing a poaching crisis. Demand for ivory has led to a massive spree of poaching in Cameroon, which has left almost 300 elephants dead since mid-January. This is according to the country’s minister of forestry and wildlife.

The culprits are said to be the Sudanese, who are hunting the elephants in the national parks bordering with Chad. On a recent inspection, almost 100 elephant bodies were spotted. It’s not just the poaching of the ivory that is a concern – the death of mother elephants means that calves are orphaned and are likely to die of thirst and hunger, compounding the problem.

The funds from the sales of the ivory, which is typically exported to the Asian and European market, are used to buy arms for regional conflicts, particularly the unrest in Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The blame is being placed on ill-trained park officials, who have to compete with professional gangs of poachers.

[Source: CNN]