Illegal capture and internal trade of wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Sri Lanka

The illegal wildlife trade is considered one of the major threats to global biodiversity. Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have been highly valued by various cultures for use in religious and spiritual contexts, as a draft animal, and more recently, as a tourist attraction. Thus, the demand for captive elephants is high. Wild Asian elephants are taken from the wild, often illegally, to maintain these captive populations due to the unviability of captive breeding programs. For the first time, we documented the extent to which wild elephants are being illegally captured and traded in Sri Lanka between January 2008 and December 2018. We collected data from case records maintained by the Sri Lanka court system where the suspects of illegal elephant trade were prosecuted in addition to information gathered by archives and interviews with various stakeholders. We documented 55 cases where elephants were illegally traded. This is probably an underestimate due to the mortality rate of elephants during capture operations, and challenges in collecting data on this highly organized illicit trade. Nearly equal numbers of male and female elephants were traded and more than 50% of them were juveniles, aged ≤5 years. Significantly more elephants were found to be seized in 2014–2015 than in the other time periods combined. We found evidence of the illegal capture of wild elephants from wildlife protected areas and state forests. More importantly, we identified evidence of corruption of wildlife officers, involvement of politicians and other high-ranking personnel in the illegal wildlife trade, and lack of active enforcement of wildlife law as major challenges to overcome if the illegal capture and domestic trade of wild elephants in Sri Lanka are to be halted. Based on our study, we make a series of recommendations that should result in implementing policy to reduce the trafficking of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and improve the conservation management of the species.

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Capture from the wild has long-term costs on reproductive success in Asian elephants

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2019.1584 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 286 (1912) ◽

pp. 20191584 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mirkka Lahdenperä ◽

John Jackson ◽

Win Htut ◽

Virpi Lummaa

Keyword(s):

Elephas Maximus ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Asian Elephants ◽

Lifetime Fitness ◽

Life History Data ◽

Captive Populations ◽

In Captivity ◽

Fitness Measures ◽

Long Term Consequences

Capturing wild animals is common for conservation, economic or research purposes. Understanding how capture itself affects lifetime fitness measures is often difficult because wild and captive populations live in very different environments and there is a need for long-term life-history data. Here, we show how wild capture influences reproduction in 2685 female Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ) used in the timber industry in Myanmar. Wild-caught females demonstrated a consistent reduction in breeding success relative to captive-born females, with significantly lower lifetime reproduction probabilities, lower breeding probabilities at peak reproductive ages and a later age of first reproduction. Furthermore, these negative effects lasted for over a decade, and there was a significant influence on the next generation: wild-caught females had calves with reduced survival to age 5. Our results suggest that wild capture has long-term consequences for reproduction, which is important not only for elephants, but also for other species in captivity.

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Endocrine correlates of puberty in female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) at the Pinnawala elephant orphanage, Sri Lanka

BMC Zoology ◽

10.1186/s40850-016-0012-8 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Samanthi Mendis ◽

Niromi K. Jayasekera ◽

Rajapakshalage C. Rajapakse ◽

Janine L. Brown

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Asian Elephants

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Illegal trade of the Psittacidae in Venezuela

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s003060531700120x ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 77-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ada Sánchez-Mercado ◽

Marianne Asmüssen ◽

Jon Paul Rodríguez ◽

Lisandro Moran ◽

Arlene Cardozo-Urdaneta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Level ◽

National Policy ◽

Extraction Rate ◽

Wildlife Trade ◽

Data Set ◽

Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽

National Monitoring ◽

Domestic Trade ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Amazona Amazonica

AbstractIllegal wildlife trade is one of the major threats to Neotropical psittacids, with nearly 28% of species targeted for the illegal pet trade. We analysed the most comprehensive data set on illegal wildlife trade currently available for Venezuela, from various sources, to provide a quantitative assessment of the magnitude, scope and detectability of the trade in psittacids at the national level. We calculated a specific offer index (SO) based on the frequency of which each species was offered for sale. Forty-seven species of psittacids were traded in Venezuela during 1981–2015, of which 17 were non-native. At least 641,675 individuals were traded, with an overall extraction rate of 18,334 individuals per year (35 years of accumulated reports). Amazona ochrocephala was the most frequently detected species (SO = 3.603), with the highest extraction rate (10,544 individuals per year), followed by Eupsittula pertinax (SO = 1.357) and Amazona amazonica (SO = 1.073). Amazona barbadensis, Ara ararauna and Ara chloropterus were the fourth most frequently detected species (SO = 0.564–0.615). Eleven species were involved principally in domestic trade (> 60% of records). Our approach could be the first step in developing a national monitoring programme to inform national policy on the trade in psittacids. Patterns and numbers provided may be used to update the official list of threatened species, and could also be used in planning conservation actions.

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Social behaviour and breeding physiology of a group of Asian elephants Elephas maximus at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka

International Zoo Yearbook ◽

10.1111/j.1748-1090.1997.tb01224.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 297-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

T. B. POOLE‘ ◽

V. J. TAYLOR ◽

S. B. U. FERNANDO ◽

W. D. RATNASOORIYA ◽

A. RATNAYEKE ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Social Behaviour ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Asian Elephants

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Social relationships of wild juvenile Asian Elephants Elephas maximus in the Udawalawa National Park, Sri Lanka

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.o1831.211-4 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 211-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Deepani Jayantha ◽

P.N. Dayawansa ◽

U.K.G.K. Padmalal ◽

W.D. Ratnasooriya

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Social Relationships ◽

National Park ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Asian Elephants

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Induction of the ovulatory LH surge in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus): a novel aid in captive breeding management of an endangered species

Reproduction Fertility and Development ◽

10.1071/rd08296 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 672 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Chatchote Thitaram ◽

Pornsawan Pongsopawijit ◽

Saran Chansitthiwet ◽

Janine L. Brown ◽

Kannikar Nimtragul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Captive Breeding ◽

Unique Feature ◽

Follicular Phase ◽

Oestrous Cycle ◽

Elephas Maximus ◽

Asian Elephants ◽

Lh Surge ◽

Breeding Management ◽

Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone ◽

Natural Mating

A unique feature of the reproductive physiology of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) is the occurrence of two LH surges before ovulation, instead of one. An anovulatory LH (anLH) surge, the function of which is unknown, occurs consistently 3 weeks before the ovulatory LH (ovLH) surge that induces ovulation. Thus, the ability to induce an ovLH surge would be useful for scheduling natural mating or artificial insemination. The present study tested the efficacy of a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-Ag) to induce LH surges during the follicular phase of the oestrous cycle, which resulted in varied LH responses, but generally none were as high as previously documented natural surges. Thus, for the ovulation-induction trials, nine females were administered 80 μg GnRH-Ag intravenously at three time periods during the oestrous cycle, namely the anovulatory follicular phase, the ovulatory follicular phase and the luteal phase. During the late anovulatory follicular phase, nine of 10 females (90%) responded with an immediate LH surge followed 15–22 days later by an ovLH surge or a post-ovulatory increase in progestagens. In contrast, despite responding to the GnRH-Ag with an immediate increase in LH, none of the females treated during other periods of the oestrous cycle exhibited subsequent ovLH surges. One cow got pregnant from natural mating following the induced ovLH surge. In conclusion, ovLH induction is possible using a GnRH-Ag, but only during a specific time of the anovulatory follicular phase.

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Zoos consenting to the illegal wildlife trade – the earless monitor lizard as a case study

Nature Conservation ◽

10.3897/natureconservation.44.65124 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 69-79

Author(s):

Vincent Nijman

Keyword(s):

Wildlife Trade ◽

Illicit Trade ◽

Illegal Wildlife Trade ◽

Speaking Out ◽

Lacey Act ◽

Foreign Law ◽

Monitor Lizard ◽

The Usa ◽

High Standards ◽

Monitor Lizards

The illegal wildlife trade has direct relevance for zoo management, animal acquisition and disposition and it has no place in modern zoo management. Zoos must not only act within the law of the country in which it is based, but they should also follow the rules and intentions of international trade regulations and, where relevant, domestic laws of the animal’s country of origin. After its rediscovery in 2012, zoos in Asia and Europe started displaying Bornean earless monitor lizards (Lanthanotus borneensis), the ‘Holy Grail of Herpetology’. Earless monitor lizards have been legally protected in each of its three range countries for over four decades and, over this period, no specimen has ever been legally exported. However, the illicit trade in the species is thriving and individuals become more affordable. Using publicly available data, I present a timeline of how and from where a total of 16 zoos acquired their earless monitor lizards, including from private individuals and non-accredited zoos. Apart from one zoo in Japan (since 2012) and one zoo in the USA (since 2021), all non-range country zoos that currently display the species are based in Europe. Their absence prior to 2021 in US zoos (despite an increasing illegal trade) could be explained as the acquisition of earless monitor lizards would have been in violation of the Lacey Act (1900) that requires buyers to ensure that imported or purchased wildlife has not been taken in violation of any foreign law. While there is no evidence that any of the zoos, their directors or their staff have broken any laws – no-one in the zoo community has been convicted for illegally trading earless monitor lizards – with more zoos speaking out against the illegal wildlife trade, it is imperative that zoos behave in an exemplary manner and set high standards. At present, some zoos do not meet this standard.

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