Poaching is a heinous crime, especially in Africa, where magnificent animals like rhinos are killed for their horns or elephants for their tusks. Controlling organized gangs of poachers has become more difficult as black market prices for horns and ivory have skyrocketed, allowing wildlife criminals to rent helicopters and arm local natives with high-powered weapons. In some cases, amputation of tusks and horns is the only way to protect very valuable animals. Fortunately, some creatures can defend themselves, as one poacher found out. Too bad another poacher got away.
Solomon Manjoro and companion Noluck Tafuruka entered Zimbabwe’s Charara National Park armed with rifles late last month, in what officials suspect was a poaching trip. Their target was the African elephant, which has always provided a lucrative trade for poachers trafficking in ivory. African elephants are under some degree of protection in every country where they are found, but wildlife officials are struggling to defend their large ranges from opportunistic poachers.
According to The Telegraph, the pair managed to approach a male elephant inside the game reserve section of the park, where Manjoro fired off a shot. Due to bad aim, the shot only caused the large mammal to take notice of the two men and it proceeded to chase them down…
