28 Elephants Killed by Poachers in Africa Over Last Few Weeks

Ivory, a hard white material that comes from elephant tusks, sells for hundreds of dollars per kilogram on the black market.

The World Wildlife Fund announced today that 28 endangered elephants were killed by poachers in Cameroon in recent weeks, reports the Global Post. WWF representative Zacharie Nzooh said his group found the elephant carcases in the forest and stripped of their tusks.

“The poachers used automatic weapons, such as AK-47s, reflecting the violent character of elephant poaching,” Nzooh said.

Poaching of forest elephants has led to a 62 percent reduction of their population over the last decade. In fact, according to a study published in the journal, PLOS ONE, elephants in Africa could soon go extinct because of the poaching. At the current rate, Cameroon’s elephant population would be wiped out in another decade.

Ivory, a hard white material that comes from elephant tusks, sells for hundreds of dollars per kilogram on the black market.