Justice for Poko

Evil poachers who killed Poko the elephant have been caught and now face up to seven years in prison

Poko, one of four inseparable members of the bachelor herd of elephants in Kasangu National Park in Malawi, was recently massacred by poachers, but the good news is that the two perpetrators have now be caught and face up to seven years in prison.

A press release from the global non-profit International Fund for Animal Welfare charity revealed: “Two ivory tusks weighing 17kgs, a variety of elephant body parts, and machetes were recovered. The arrested men also led investigators to the site of the illegal firearm, which was also confiscated. Later, the shotgun slug that killed Poko was recovered from the carcass and matched to the illegal firearm and ammunition seized from the poachers.”

Having left the three remaining bull elephants in mourning – they have been seen hugging one another, touching foreheads and standing in a tight group swaying back and forth – “flawless tracking by IFAW supported rangers led to the rapid arrest of the poachers” commented Richard Marriott of IFAW.

Mike Labuschagne, the charity’s head of law enforcement in Malawi, added: “As long as Kasungu National Park is under IFAW’s watch no elephant will be deprived of justice. We are training rangers for excellence and depend deeply on the community for their support which we are grateful to receive. The death of Poko was tragic but we are confident that we have disrupted a deadly gang of poachers. Elephants will be safer as a result.”

In 1977, over 1,000 individual elephants could be found in Kasungu, but by 2015 the total had dropped to just 50. Since IFAW began supporting anti-poaching efforts there in 2015, numbers have risen to 80 and only two elephants have been lost to poaching during that time.

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