STORY: Kenyan campaigners urge enhanced protection for transboundary super tusker elephants
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 12, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 13, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:42
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of exteriors of the conference
2. various of banners
3. various of conservationists
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PAULA KAHUMBU, Chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FESTUS IHWAGI, Senior scientist and research policy lead at Save the Elephants

STORYLINE:

Kenya observed World Elephant Day on Monday, with campaigners and scientists intensifying calls for the protection of super tusker elephants in the Amboseli ecosystem, which straddles the Kenya-Tanzania border.
   
Of the 2,000 elephants inhabiting this cross-border region, 10 are distinguished as super tuskers, known for their colossal tusks weighing up to 100 pounds (approximately 45 kg). These majestic giants face threats from trophy hunting, poaching, habitat loss, and climatic stress, according to campaigners.
   
Paula Kahumbu, chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect, a Nairobi-based wildlife conservation lobby, said at a briefing in Nairobi that five super tusker elephants have been killed by trophy hunters in the last eight months in the greater Amboseli ecosystem.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): PAULA KAHUMBU, Chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect
"This is not just something of concern to Kenyans, it's a global concern. These are very special elephants. Anybody who has been to Amboseli knows why these elephants are unique. They are some of the largest tusker elephants in the world. They are few. They are unique genetic populations and they range across the international borders."

Festus Ihwagi, senior scientist and research policy lead at Save the Elephants, a Nairobi-based elephants conservation lobby, called for cross-border initiatives to protect the remaining super tuskers.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FESTUS IHWAGI, Senior scientist and research policy lead at Save the Elephants
"This particular campaign is not about the trade. It's about protecting a few iconic individuals because hunting is a sport. It's not controlled by CITES. Every country has its own national laws, they have their own policies. And we respect them, but they cannot trade internationally on that ivory hunting."

The 2024 World Elephant Day was marked under the theme of "Personifying prehistoric beauty, theological relevance and environmental importance," underscoring the need to conserve natural habitats for the iconic giant mammals.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)