Cameroon Elephant Slaughter

In early 2012, a heavily-armed band of foreign poachers, believed to be Sudanese, entered on horseback across Cameroon's border with Chad. Over two months, the group slaughtered over 300 elephants for their ivory in Bouba N'Djida National Park. Before the incident, the park was home to the most important population of savanna elephants in Central Africa. Very few now remain alive. As international pressure mounted, Cameroon military responded, but it was too late to save the elephants. Since the incident Cameroon has increased protection at its park and announced plans to hire 2,500 new rangers to be deployed across the country.