Poachers Hate Her, Animals Love her

image credit: cambodia4kidsorg

This year, the National Geographic Annual Award is being given to Dr. Paula Kahumbu, an elephant conservationist in Kenya who has fought against poaching of elephants for their ivory in her country.

Much of Africa's wealth lies within its hills and natural resources, including the richness of its wildlife. The elephant population on the continent was on a steady decline as the World demanded more and more ivory for ever cheaper prices and poaching was on the rise. One of the moments she hails as the proudest moments in Kenyan conservation was in July of 1989 when President Moi burned 12 tonnes of ivory recaptured from poachers.

Elephants are not her only passion. Currently involved in a battle against the use of a chemical used as an insecticide called Furadan that is manufactured in the US, she claims that the poison has slowly but steadily reduced the population of other wild life in Africa including the African Lion and the vultures. This chemical has been banned from use in the US, but is currently exported to numerous developing nations all over the World.

Dr. Kahumbu received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2002 and is the author of Owen & Mzee and Looking For Miza that can be purchased from Amazon.com. She is also a fervent blogger from the African Environmental frontlines where you can read stories of the human-wildlife conflict essential to our existance in this delicate ecosystem.

Congratulations Dr. Kahumbu!

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