Amboseli’s Elephants: Why We Must Protect Africa’s Last Great Tuskers from Trophy Hunting

This article is a response to a story published in the Daily Maverick https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2024-10-23-online-hate-hinders-nuanced-conservation-debates-a-call-for-a-better-way-forward/ which unfairly and intentionally misrepresents the Kenyan scientific community’s concerns about the hunting of elephants in the cross-border Enduimet area between Kenya and Tanzania.

Please read it and join me in responding on the article to correct the facts - here is my response

Dr. Dickman’s attempt to portray this as an attack on Tanzania’s hunting economy and a dismissal of the local people’s interests is both misleading and harmful. What she fails to acknowledge is that the elephants in this region are part of a long-studied, internationally recognized population — the Amboseli elephants, many of whom are known, named, and followed for decades by scientists, including through numerous documentaries by BBC, National Geographic, and others. These are not abstract animals but individuals who have been carefully documented and are of profound scientific, ecological, and cultural importance.

To equate hunting these elephants with anything other than destruction of a cherished and unique population is disingenuous. They are so habituated that it’s akin to shooting your neighbor’s beloved dog. Maybe that works for some hunters, but many tell us that they voluntarily would never hunt this population - it's just not ethical. The Amboseli/Kilimanjaro West elephant population contains some of Africa’s last great tuskers, elephants whose genetics and social structures are irreplaceable. Killing them would undermine decades of conservation work, critical research, and shared heritage between Kenya and Tanzania. Both countries have agreed to this for decades. Yet, our efforts to renew the agreement has met with objection from a small group of hunting companies and the team at Wild Cru led by Dr Dickman. She has purposefully misled the public about our concerns.

Contrary to Dr. Dickman’s claims, this issue is not about undermining Tanzania’s broader hunting economy. It is specifically about the unique and irreplaceable value of this cross-border elephant population, protected through a bilateral agreement for over 30 years. The recent introduction of hunting by a firm, Kilombero North, has raised legitimate concerns about its impact on this fragile population.

The emotional tone of Dr. Dickman’s article reveals an effort to make this debate personal when, in fact, it is not about her. She seems unable or unwilling to address the factual, scientific concerns raised by myself and numerous other international and local scientists who have been studying this population for over 50 years. Even if she does care about the slaughter of these gentle famous giants, it is critical to remind her and others that this debate is between two sovereign nations—Kenya and Tanzania—working together to protect a shared natural treasure. It has nothing to do with an Oxford University department, which has, unfortunately, been funded in part by hunting companies. When efforts to inquire into potential conflicts of interest are met with threats of defamation, it only raises further questions about transparency and motivations. It is no secret that Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), which runs projects like the one tracking Cecil the lion, has received funding from groups that support "sustainable trophy hunting." This has sparked controversy, with critics arguing that it creates a potential conflict of interest.

Dr. Dickman is right that conservation requires challenging decisions. But those decisions should be based on solid local scientific evidence (she is not an elephant s expert and has never worked in this area), local knowledge, and the precautionary principle — not the personal views of those funded by parties with vested interests. This is not a debate about “pro” vs. “anti” hunting; it is about protecting a specific, highly vulnerable elephant population that is not replaceable. We need to move beyond mischaracterizations and focus on the facts, not emotional narratives.

I call on all parties to respect the bilateral agreement that has protected these elephants for decades and to approach this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

Sincerely,

Dr Paula Kahumbu

Conservationist, WildlifeDirect