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ANIMALS ON THE EDGE
Human population growth continues to put pressure on fragile wildlife habitats in east Africa. Years of rampant poaching in Kenya and Tanzania left elephant and rhino populations in ruins, and now conservation efforts in Africa are symbolized by the struggles to protect these magnificent
animals. Meanwhile, there are determined efforts to protect the mountain gorillas that cling to existence in neighboring Uganda. |
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The elephant
The immense savannas of east Africa mark the area where the human race is believed to have emerged. The Olduvai Gorge near the Serengeti in Tanzania has yielded the oldest known remains of modern humans. Today, it is the expanding and encroaching human population that is putting increasing
pressure on wildlife. |
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African elephants are sociable animals. Herds are usually made up of one or more family groups, although bulls can be more solitary. Elephant herds are headed by a matriarch and have a complex social structure centered on the females and calves. |
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Elephants still roam east Africa, but in far lower numbers than a century ago. Loss of habitat to agriculture, and a greed for ivory from their tusks, have each taken a heavy toll on these intelligent beasts.
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Young elephants play-fighting on the Masai Mara. Like humans, elephants live through a childhood as they learn how to become part of their complex society.
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Through the 1970s and 1980s, ivory poachers decimated elephants in the Serengeti and other parts of east Africa. After the world-wide ban on the ivory trade in 1989, elephants began returning to some areas and their numbers are now increasing. |
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The rhinoceros
The rhino has no natural predators, but has been hunted relentlessly to near extinction by man. Poachers seeking horns are largely responsible for slashing the world's rhino population by around 90% since 1970. Today, there are only around 15,000 of these primitive-looking beasts left
in Africa. Many of the last surviving rhinos are in small populations restricted to areas where they can receive at least some protection from this wanton destruction.
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These rhinos on the Mara Plain in Kenya are guarded round the clock against poachers. |
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White rhinos in the Nakuru National Park in Kenya. Although best known for its soda lake and flamingos, Nakuru is also a sanctuary for relocated rhinos. |
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The mountain gorilla
The mountain gorilla has been driven to near extinction by habitat destruction, hunting and the tragic consequences of war in a turbulent region of Africa. In contrast to the more numerous lowland gorillas, these gentle giants cling to existence in a small area of Africa that straddles the
borders of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
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At 200 kg, the male mountain gorilla is the world's largest living primate. |
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Gentle vegetarians on the brink of extinction. |
In this fragile area, the last mountain gorillas survive in two, isolated populations. One lives in forests on the slopes of the Virunga mountains. The second is localized to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda where these photos were taken. Together these groups number only
around 700 animals - the world's total population of mountain gorillas. |
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Once wrongly regarded as fearsome, gorillas are gentle vegetarians that live in strongly-bonded family groups. Unless their families are threatened, conflicts are usually shows of strength between dominant male silverbacks. |
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