Ivory Coast(COTE D'IVOIRE)) Pilots Novel Elephant Rescue Monday, Jan. 20, 2014

After being tranquilized and loaded onto trucks with cranes, elephants that have been squeezed out of their traditional habitat in Ivory Coast are being relocated by conservationists in what is reportedly the first such operation attempted in Africa's forests.

The elephants being relocated were forced out of the Marahoue National Park by human migration possibly related to the West African country's 2010-11 postelection violence, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare

 

Elephants are widely cherished as Ivory Coast's national animal, and the government contacted the animal welfare organization for help to solve the problem without hunting the elephants down and contributing to the ongoing decline of forest elephant populations throughout the region, said Celine Sissler-Bienvenu, IFAW's director for Francophone Africa

This relocation solves a major conservation problem by contributing to the safety and well-being of both the animals and humans


Ivory Coast is so enamored of elephants that its national soccer team is nicknamed after them.

A tusker is prominently displayed on the national coat of arms