The World - News from July 19, 1985

Poachers have badly depleted elephant and rhinoceros stocks in the Central African Republic, one of the last remaining strongholds of the animals, a report by the World Wildlife Fund said. “The country’s elephant population . . . is estimated to have been reduced from 80,000 to 15,000 in the last decade,” it warned. When Central African President Andre Kolingba visited national parks in May, the agency added, “he and his party came under fire as they descended in two helicopters to investigate some elephant carcasses. A counterattack led to the arrest of 24 poachers and the confiscation of 220 tusks.”