We all stood silently for many hours as we watched dozens of African forest elephants carry on during a beautiful uninterrupted day while in the Central African Republic. That was in January. Now, the world has learned these past few weeks that elephants in CAR are being slaughtered as the country faces a violence-ridden power struggle.

Recent reports from the field indicate criminals have overtaken Dzanga Bai and are shooting elephants, possibly even from the viewing stand where scientists are customarily stationed to protect the elephants. WCS and WWF staff evacuated at the end of April as the violence began escalating. It is clear that without conservationists in the area the elephants have no chance.

Continue reading Samper’s blog post on the Huffington Post >>