Picture Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/African_Bush_Elephant_Mikumi.jpg/300px-African_Bush_Elephant_Mikumi.jpg
The population of elephants in South Africa is growing steadily – so much that it is getting to the point where environmentalists are proposing culling and contraception in order to curb the population growth. The growth is about 6-7% and is expected to double by the year 2020. There are about 20,000 elephants in South Africa, and a single elephant consumes about 300 kilograms of grass, leaves, and twigs per day. So in South Africa:
20,000 elephants(300 kg) = 6,000,000 kg of grass, leaves, and twigs eaten up in South Africa each day.
But because they are messy, 60% of this is wasted:
6,000,000(.60) = 3,600,000 kg wasted each day.
So undoubtedly this takes a huge toll on South Africa’s environment. If the elephant population keeps expanding, South Africa’s vegetation may become completely destroyed.
Proposed methods of managing the elephants include moving them to other areas, putting up enclosures to protect other animals, expanding parks, contraception, and culling, which is the selection of surplus animals from a population. It is being said that no mass slaughter will occur.
But there are some problems with these curbing methods. For instance, contraception leads to female elephants fighting with bulls. The average lifespan of a female elephant in the South Africa region has been reduced from 65 years to about 45 years. Also, translocation can be a problem because of the cost and the limited space available for transport.
I think that curbing the elephant population in South Africa is necessary because they are overgrazing big time. 3.6 million kg of grass, leaves, etc. that is purely wasted each day by elephants in South Africa and not even consumed is a harsh yet real statistic. Something has to be done, or the future of South Africa’s environment will certainly be jeopardized.
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