WCS, Yankari Games Reserve Communities Celebrate 2024 World Elephant Day
Members of Gaji Gamu community at the World Elephant Day engagement with WCS and Management staff of Yankari Game Reserve. Photo: Murtala Ahmed Mustapha
By Murtala Muhammad/Murtala Ahmed Mustapha
In commemoration of this year’s World Elephant Day, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has called on the communities around Yankari Games Reserve to sustain their doggedness, perseverance and show of ownership in safeguarding and preservation of Elephants.
The WCS’s Education Manager at Yankari Game Reserve, Aisha Babagana made the call at an event to mark the 2024 World Elephant Day, organized by WCS to highlight issues around the importance of safeguarding and preservation of Elephants, held at Gaji Gamu community around Yankari Games Reserve, Bauchi State.
Aisha Babagana said the call was necessary in view of the roles being played by the communities, noting that the Day was set aside by the United Nations to create awareness about critical issues confronting elephants.
She expressed concern that elephants’ lives were being threatened across the globe, with statistics indicating drastic reduction in their numbers, a situation that calls for concerted effort to change the negative narratives.
She added that in appreciation of the communities’ role in the protection of elephants’ lives, WCS has chosen as its theme; “Our Elephants Our Pride” aimed at encouraging them to do more.
Speaking, the Village Head of Gaji Gamu community, Malam Sani Adamu said the benefits of Elephants to the habitat cannot be overestimated as they include digging of smaller pools for other animals to drink water from, keeping the ecosystem fertile for farming and using their waste product as Herbal Medicine.
He assured of the communities’ commitment towards safeguarding the lives of Elephants, calling on the Bauchi State government to employ additional Guards to complement the effects of Rangers within the locality to guarantee the safety of the wild animals.
Malam Adamu said most of the Elephants from Yankari Games Reserve cross over to the communities during dry season, hence the need for government to employ addition guards to enable them push the animals back to their territories.
Celebrated worldwide on the 12th of August annually, World Elephant Day is being used to advocate for Elephants safeguarding and preservation.
The international theme for the 2024 World Elephant Day is; “Personifying prehistoric beauty, theological relevance, and environmental importance”.
