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Namibian Wildlife Crimes article archive

This archive of published media articles about wildlife crime in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to articles
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia

Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife crime is one of the pressing environmental issues of our time.

Wildlife crime investigations are generally covert operations requiring utmost confidentiality to succeed. Investigations and prosecutions in complex cases may take months or even years to complete. For this reason, the information that can be released to the public without compromising cases is often limited. Nonetheless, the Namibian government strives to share as much information as possible with the public.

The Namibian media has welcomed this approach and regularly publishes statistics and feature articles on wildlife crime. These are entered into the database at regular intervals, creating a comprehensive archive of wildlife crime reporting in Namibia.

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Displaying results 1 - 13 of 13
Friday, 29 November 2024
2024. Mysterious mass elephant die-off 'probably caused by toxic water'.

Satellite data analysis suggests climate-induced algal blooms could be behind hundreds of deaths in Botswana that sparked flurry of theories in 2020More than 350 elephants that died in mysterious circumstances probably drank toxic water, according to a new paper that warns of an "alarming trend" in climate-induced poisoning.The deaths in Botswana's Okavango delta were described by scientists as a "conservation disaster". Elephants of all ages were seen walking in circles before collapsing and dying.

Thursday, 28 November 2024
Mukube I 2024. New community courts to advance restorative justice - Dausab.

The minister said the court enables the swift prosecution for offenses such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging and pollution, aligning with national and international efforts to safeguard the environment.

Thursday, 21 November 2024
Koro E 2024. U.S. Appeals Court's decision on ivory, Rhino horn sales may signal reopening of international trade.
U.S. Appeals Court's decision on ivory, Rhino horn sales may signal reopening of international trade.
Thursday, 14 November 2024
Smit E 2024. Africa's elephants in need.

A study has found that data collected over a period of 53 years on elephant populations in Africa show that a dramatic decline in elephant populations has been recorded over the period. This study concludes that habitat loss and poaching are the reason for the dramatic decline in African elephants. However, the study, "Survey based inference of continental African elephant decline," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that it was difficult to measure the numbers for the entire continent and to monitor changes accurately.

Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Dasgupta S 2024. African elephants declining - but some areas show promise.

Across the African continent, elephant populations have largely declined over the past several decades, but some areas show hopeful signs of recovery, according to a new study. Researchers have monitored the numbers of forest and savanna elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis, L. africana) in different parts of Africa since the 1960s. However, few stud ies have compiled all the survey data collected over decades, across the continent, George Wittemyer, study co-author and conservation biologist at Colorado State University, U.S., told Mongabay by email.

Wednesday, 13 November 2024
Odindo N 2024. Kenya: 2 Tanzanians arrested for alleged smuggling of tusks valued at KSh 3.3m.

Police officers from Mtwapa Police Station, along with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers, have arrested two Tanzanian nationals allegedly involved in the illegal ivory trade. Paul Kuya and Paul Telek were nabbed from their hideout in Majengo, Mtwapa. The suspects, identified as Paul Kuya (36) and Paul Telek (29), were apprehended in a hideout in the Majengo area of Mtwapa, where authorities uncovered eleven elephant tusks weighing 32.924 kilograms. How did officers recover the tusks? The tusks, valued at KSh 3.3 million, were packed in nylon sacks and concealed in three…

Monday, 11 November 2024
2024. 53 years of survey data confirm African elephant decline.

Habitat loss and poaching have driven dramatic declines in African elephants, but it is challengingto measure their numbers and monitor changes across the entire continent. A new study hasanalyzed 53 years of population survey data and found large-scale declines in most populations ofboth species of African elephants. From 1964–2016, forest elephant populations decreased on average by 90%, and savanna elephantpopulations fell on average by 70%. In combination, populations declined by 77% on average.

Friday, 16 December 2022
Salaton A 2022. Kenya: State puts Mara poachers on notice.

The government has put poachers at the Maasai Mara game reserve on notice after it emerged that five elephants and three giraffes were killed under mysterious circumstances over the past two months. Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde while addressing the Jamhuri day celebrations at Oldekesi Secondary School in Narok West Sub County said the three giraffes had their reproductive organs chopped off raising suspicion over the intention of the poachers.

Wednesday, 14 December 2022
2022. Wildlife trafficker sentenced to 57 months for large-scale trafficking of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Amara Cherif, a/k/a "Bamba Issiaka," a citizen of Guinea, was sentenced to 57 months for conspiring to traffic in millions of dollars in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, both endangered wildlife species, which involved the illegal poaching of more than approximately 35 rhinoceros and more than 100 elephants. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.

Saturday, 3 December 2022
Fukiady T 2022. Illegal hunting in Quiçama is spurred on by traffickers with financial power.

Quiçama Park administrator denounces that individuals with money have "encouraged" poachers. Lack of personnel and transport cited as a reason for poor enforcement. Park has just over 100 staff, but needs at least 600. In 2021, the Government presented a project to stop poaching in the country.

Friday, 2 December 2022
Mkwanda N 2022. Malawi: Zambian national gets 15 years prison sentence in MK53 million wildlife crime.

Senior Resident Magistrate Wanangwa Nyirenda on Thursday, December 1st 2022, sentenced Zambian national Kelby Roy Malambo to 15 years imprisonment with hard labour for the three charges he faced in the MK53m wildlife crime case involving elephant ivory.

Thursday, 1 December 2022
Naidoo D 2022. Suspected poacher nabbed with two elephant tusks.

A 39-year-old man is expected to appear before the Calcutta Magistrate's Court in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, today after he was arrested by the Nelspruit Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation, the White River K9 Unit and Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Authority.

Thursday, 1 December 2022
Smit E 2022. Stropery - 106 die jaar gearresteer.

Altesaam 106 verdagtes is vanjaar vir stropery in hegtenis geneem. Intussen maak rolspelers gereed om wildbeskerming en wetstoepassingspogings teen wildmisdaad in Namibië hierdie feesseisoen op te skerp. Van hierdie 106 is 44 vir renosterstropery en 62 verdagtes vir olifantstropery in hegtenis geneem. Die ministerie van die omgewing, bosbou en toerisme se woordvoerder, mnr. Romeo Muyunda, het gesê wat ontstellend is, is dat 93 van dié verdagtes Namibiërs is - 'n groep wat volgens die ministerie die voortou in die stryd teen stropery behoort te neem.

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