Elephant meat
Elephant meat is the flesh and other edible parts of
Characteristics
The bodies of elephants have a relatively high fat content,[1] with one prominent fatty area being the foot pads of the feet. The long bones of elephants lack significant marrow cavities.[2]
History
Elephant meat has been consumed by humans for over a million years. One of the oldest sites suggested to represent elephant butchery is from Dmanisi in Georgia with cut marks found on the bones of the extinct mammoth species Mammuthus meridionalis , which dates to around 1.8 million years ago,[3] with other butchery sites for this species reported from Spain dating to around 1.2 million years ago.[4] Other early elephant butchery sites are known for the extinct elephant species Palaeoloxodon recki in East Africa, dating from 1.6 million to 700,000 years ago.[5] These early sites may have been the result of scavenging.[5] The earliest reliable evidence for elephant hunting is from Lehringen in Germany, where the skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) dating to the Last Interglacial (around 125,000 years ago) was found with a wooden spear.[6]
Modern times
Today, all species of elephant are hunted specifically for their meat. This occurs notably in
Hunting of elephants by African hunter gatherers
Hunting of elephants with spears by hunter gatherers is declining in recent decades due to the increased accessibility of firearms, which are much more effective in killing elephants.[10]
Consumption during the Zambezi expedition
Scottish explorer
Consumption during the 1870 Siege of Paris
During the
Demand
An investigation into the elephant meat trade revealed that in four central African countries, the demand for the meat is higher than the supply. In cities, the meat is considered to be prestigious, and as such, costs more to buy than most other meats. This acts as an incentive for poachers to hunt elephants for their meat as well as their tusks. Another incentive comes from "commanditaires". These are individuals with wealth, usually people with influence in the military, government, or the business world, and are known to fund elephant hunts. They provide money, equipment, and also weapons. Their main objective is to receive ivory in return, which they sell.[14]
Those working in logging camps provide local demand for elephant meat. Construction of the associated logging roads eases access from areas that were once remote, to sites where the meat can be sold.
Forest elephants in Africa are normally around 2,300 to 2,700 kilograms (5,000–6,000 lb). While the ivory may be sold for around $180 (in 2007), a poacher could sell the meat (approximately 450 kilograms or 1,000 pounds) for up to $6,000. During this time, Africans living in the Congo Basin were earning an average of around $1 per day.[7]
In 2007, elephant meat was selling in Bangui (Central African Republic) markets at $12.0 per kilogram ($5.45/lb). This was at the same time that ivory could be sold by poachers for $30.0 per kilogram ($13.60/lb).[7] The meat was being transported and sold over the border of the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite being illegal according to international law, both governments collected taxes for the transactions.
In 2012, wildlife officials in Thailand expressed the concern that a new taste for elephant meat consumption could pose a risk to their survival. They were alerted to the problem upon discovering that two elephants in a national park were slaughtered. The director-general of the wildlife agency in Thailand stated that some of the meat was eaten raw.[15]
Preservation
The meat may be charred on the outside and smoked at the site where the elephant is killed, to preserve it during transportation to populated areas for sale.[16]
Statistics
Utilization of the meat and earnings estimates in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were compiled as follows by Daniel Stiles in his 2011 Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa: Summary report:[17]
Utilization
Utilization of the meat of recalled elephant that were killed:
Country | Fresh meat consumed by hunters/shared |
Smoked meat for personal/shared use |
Fresh meat sold | Smoked meat sold | Kills when no meat taken |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cameroon | 0–12% (2.3%) | 0–40% (10%, or ~100 kg) | 0% | 0–60% (8%, or ~80 kg) | 5 (45%) |
Central African Republic | 2–5% (3.5%) | 0–165 kg (85 kg) | 0% | 0–630 kg (260 kg) | 1 (13%) |
Republic of Congo
|
~1% | 0–10 kg (6 kg) | 0% | 10–300 kg (100 kg) | 0 |
Democratic Republic of Congo
|
~1% | 0–315 kg (82 kg) | 0% | 0–1000 kg (279 kg) | 1 (14%) |
Mean range | 1–3.5% | 6–100 kg | 0% | 80–279 kg | 0–5 (0–45%) |
Potential earnings
Potential earnings estimates from elephant meat (smoked) that was reported as sold:
Country | Range in kg | Price per kg (US$) | Total earnings (US$) |
---|---|---|---|
Cameroon | 0-600* | $2 | $0 to $1,200 |
Central African Republic | 0 to 630 | $2 to $3.33 | $0 to $2,098 |
Republic of Congo
|
10 to 300 | $2.40 to $3 | $24 to $900 |
Democratic Republic of Congo
|
0 to 1,000 | $1 to $5.55 | $0 to $5,550 |
* 60% of the carcass; see Utilization table above, column "Smoked meat sold"
Ranges begin at zero because not all elephant hunters take the meat; however, in the Republic of Congo sample, all of the reported kills resulted in at least some meat being taken.
Cultural and religious practices
Assamese scriptures prescribe various meats, including that of the elephant, to recover from illness and to stay in good health.
The Kalika Purana distinguishes bali (sacrifice), mahabali (great sacrifice), for the ritual killing of goats, elephant, respectively, though the reference to humans in Shakti theology is symbolic and done in effigy in modern times.[19]
Elephant meat is also forbidden by
References
- .
- ISSN 1944-2890.
- PMID 36116366.
- .
- ^ ISSN 2571-550X.
- PMID 36724231.
- ^ a b c "Central Africa elephants killed for meat - World news - World environment". NBC News. 2007-06-06. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
- ^ "African elephant conservation". www.traffic.org. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
- .
- .
- ^ "David Livingstone letter reveals explorer ate elephant". BBC News. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Scots explorer was forced to eat elephant". Daily Record. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ Stiles, Daniel. "Elephant meat and ivory trade in Central Africa". Research gate. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
- ^ "News - Sale of Elephant Meat Increases Threat to Elephants in Central Africa". Iucnredlist.org. 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
- ^ "New taste for Thai elephant meat". Phys.org. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
- ^ "Elephant Meat a Commodity for Poachers". Fox News. 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ ...The Mah›vagga (Mv.VI.23.9-15) forbids ten kinds of flesh: that of human beings, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, RED lions, tigers, leopards, bears, and hyenas...
- ^ "" Pramatha Nath Bose, A History of Hindu Civilization During British Rule, vol. 1, p. 65
- ^ Mufti Faraz Adam (May 6, 2012). "Is it permissible to consume elephant meat?publisher=Darul Fiqh".
- ^ Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam (April 20, 2005). "Why Can't I Eat Elephant?". Leicester , UK: Darul Iftaa.
External links
- Stiles, D. (2011). Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa: Summary report Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. (PDF). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 103pp.
- African Elephants and the Bushmeat Trade (PDF), May 2002, Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF)