Illegal poaching is an international problem. This crime has led to the decimation of countless populations of wild animals, who are targeted by ruthless criminals eager to exploit the superstitions of the ignorant and the greed of the one percent.
The inhuman carnage caused by these criminals was illustrated perfectly recently, when Inside Edition, posted a video of an elephant in Zimbabwe, who had been shot in the head by poachers. Luckily, the animal survived, and this story has a happy ending. You are going to be amazed by this video.
An adult male African elephant recently approached game stewards in a national park in Zimbabwe. The animal had been shot in the head with a high-powered hunting rifle, the bullet missing his brain by mere centimeters.
The elephant was able to walk until it found game stewards, who were able to sedate him and render veterinary aid. After performing an x-ray scan to find it, they successfully removed the bullet and saved the elephant’s life.
The team that helped him has named him “Pretty Boy.’ after recovering from the sedative, the animal rose to his feet and walked a short distance before falling asleep leaning against a tree. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Illegal poaching is driven by a multi-billion dollar market, mostly in Asia, where the ill-informed pay top prices for animal parts to be used as medicinals, and by wealthy “collectors” who seek to countermand international laws concerning contraband.
As elephants are both highly social animals and are considered to be such great economic value, they are targeted by poachers, who will kill them by the herd. Often, once the animals are dead, the poachers will only remove the ivory tusks, leaving the poor creatures to rot.