Saving African Elephants

Guests: Josh Plotnik and George Wittemyer

[From the Radio Times archive] African elephants are being killed for their ivory in unprecedented numbers. Poachers slaughtered an estimated 100,000 African elephants from 2010 and 2012, according to a recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. China’s growing demand for ivory is fueling the rise in illegal elephant hunting. This hour, a look at saving Africa’s elephants and a celebration of elephant intelligence. Marty talks with GEORGE WITTEMYER, a professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University and lead author of the new report on poaching. We also learn about the social intelligence of elephants from animal behaviorist JOSH PLOTNIK, a lecturer in conservation biology at Mahidol University and the CEO of US nonprofit Think Elephants International. She spoke with them this fall.