Post by Vierotchka on May 22, 2013 6:16:02 GMT -5
Published on 22 May 2013
With chronic instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the implosion of the Central African Republic, poaching has spiraled out of control. With China economic surge leading to a growing demand for resources, Africa's last great herds of elephants are in serious danger of becoming extinct.
Forest elephant populations are reported to have declined by sixty two percent. The Okapi Faunal Reserve HQ at Epulu, in the east of the DRC, has been attacked and destroyed by local militias backed and supported by powerful military elements, identified by the United Nations.