Desert Elephants In Serious Trouble

[snurri]

Not all of you may be aware that there are desert elephants: they travel along the fringes of the Sahara, digging wells with their trunks--which incidentally become mini-ecosystems for all sorts of creatures. But the Gourma region of Mali is in the midst of the worst drought in 26 years, and the elephants are in trouble.

Many elephants are now surviving with very limited and hard to access water supplies. At a dry lake bed 50 km to the east of Banzena, six bull elephants are surviving by getting on their knees and reaching for water with their trunks that is three meters beneath ground level and through a hole dug by the Touareg people. Younger elephants that are not as big or as skilled cannot possibly reach these hard to get at water points. The long distances, high temperatures and weakened condition will also take a heavy toll on the younger elephants.