Saved from poachers - PHOTO+VIDEO

Succumbing in agony to a deadly toxin coursing through its veins, a bull elephant falls to its knees after being shot by a poacher's poisoned arrow.

The bull was attacked as he roamed the savannah of Tsavo National Park in Kenya by ruthless hunters hoping to tear out his tusks and sell them on the lucrative ivory black market.  

But happily his life was spared after a team of heroic vets flew in just in time to remove the arrow and administer vital drugs to counter the poison after he was spotted writhing on the ground.

Had the team of medics not arrived when they did, the majestic beast would have died a long and painful death, becoming yet another victim of an illegal trade that is responsible for the death of one elephant every 15 minutes in Africa.

Rob Brandford, director of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, said that the animal would certainly have died were it not for the amazing efforts of the emergency team.

He said: 'In this case the tusker has a clearly visible wound on his back leg and the vets needed to ensure they acted quickly before the poison spread. 

Poachers traditionally target the largest breeding males and the oldest females, who lead the elephant troops and have the largest tusks, reducing elephant populations to leaderless groups of traumatized orphans huddling together.

But as populations diminish, poachers are training their cross hairs on the youngsters too, even poisoning watering holes with cyanide to save time and energy.

The ivory is so valuable because all across Asia — particularly in China — ivory figurines are given as traditional gifts, and ivory chopsticks, hair ornaments, and jewelry are highly prized luxuries. 

In some areas, people even believe ivory has magical healing powers and is ground down into a powder and used to treat a range of ailments - at a very high cost. 

But while this elephant survived the horrific attack, which happened on September 15, Brandford admits that poaching remains a huge issue in Africa with poachers using a variety of methods to slaughter one of the planet's most iconic beasts.

He said: 'Across Africa, poaching is an extremely worrying problem that is threatening wild populations, and killing one elephant every 15 minutes for its tusks.

'Sadly the use of poisoned arrows is just one cruel means of death favoured by poachers - snares, automatic weapons and spears are also used. 

Demand from Far Eastern countries, including China, is driving this slaughter which could see Africa's elephants wiped out within our lifetime.'

However, he says that The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is making a significant difference in the fight against the illegal ivory trade.

He said: 'To date, the [our] Anti-Poaching Teams have made over 2,000 arrests and recovered over 130,000 snares, and are aided in the air by our Aerial Surveillance.

'Together with our Mobile Vet Teams (in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service), it means we can act quickly to any illegal activity and come to the aid of targeted elephants.'

Poachers are now slaughtering up to 35,000 of the estimated 500,000 African elephants every year for their tusks. 

A single male elephant's two tusks can weigh more than 250 pounds, with a pound of ivory fetching as much as $1,500 on the black market. It means this elephant's tusks could have fetched up to $400,000. 

(dailymail.co.uk)

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