Nearly half the elephant population of the tiny, landlocked African country of Swaziland was en route Wednesday to U.S. zoos in Omaha, Wichita and Dallas. Depending on who’s describing it, the airlift operation will either save the elephants’ lives — and those of threatened rhinoceroses — or condemn the pachyderms to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder for the financial benefit of zoos and a corrupt kingdom.
Swaziland, like the rest of Southern Africa, is experiencing a severe drought that has caused a scarcity of food sources for wildlife, and the nonprofit that manages its parks said it would cull the elephants to offset what it says is an overpopulation that is putting pressure on critically endangered black rhinoceroses. The elephants had been moved in July from national parks to temporary holding areas, where they were fed hay trucked in from South Africa and partially paid for by the three zoos.
