Flying high above the dry, sweeping plains of southern Sudan, Paul Elkan is a man on a mission.
The director of the region's Wildlife Conservation Society, he is tasked with surveying a wilderness that has been off-limits to international researchers for the best part of 30 years.
"It's one of the last wilderness areas in Africa, one of the last great wilderness areas in the world," Elkan told CNN. "You have a very large savannah ecosystem that is adjacent to the largest wetland in Africa. So there are a lot of superlatives here in southern Sudan."
For many years, conservationists feared the distinctive wildlife documented by researchers in southern Sudan before the conflict had been hunted to extinction.
But recent surveys in the region have revealed that not only did many animals survive, they are thriving.
CNN filmed exclusive footage in Sudan of the wildlife that inhabits a wilderness largely unseen by the world before now
Elkan told us of the euphoria when and his colleagues rediscovered large numbers of elephants.
"We were ecstatic and moved, really. People were saying elephants were finished in southern Sudan, so initially it's people cheering and yelling in the plane. A bunch of scientists, normally very focused people everyone just whooping and hollering - can you believe there's elephants here?
"Then you get your composure back and start taking your photographs to count them. We came across 150 elephants, there were people writing articles saying there are no more elephants in so Sudan, so hey, what about these 150? We saw a big bull elephant, and you know it's a celebrity elephant, a survivor of 25 years of civil war."
Both sides in the war killed elephants for meat and for their ivory but several thousand escaped the tanks and bullets and disappeared into the vast expanses of bush.
And it's not just elephants -- the region boasts the largest savannah in Africa, immense fresh water wetlands, soaring plateaus and a million-strong antelope migration.
Not all animals survived as well as the elephants and antelope. Thirty years ago the area was thickly populated with wildlife including 30,000 zebra. Now, they have counted just seven.
Elkan can see the day southern Sudan is mentioned alongside the Serengeti, the Masai Mara, Kruger National Park. The Wildlife Conservation Society is working with the Government of Southern Sudan to try and secure key wild spaces. The U.S. Government, through USAID, provides substantial funding to the project, but the task ahead is immense.
"It could be just as significant as the Serengeti," said Elkan. "In many ways it's more special because it's more isolated. You have species here which are found nowhere else in Africa and nowhere else in the world."
"I certainly think it can be viable wildlife area. If you're looking for revenue, there's a lot of oil in southern Sudan, so tourism doesn't need to generate all the wealth."
But viable tourism could be at least a decade away, admits Elkan. And, in peace, animals face more immediate threats.
Southern Sudan has 80 percent of Sudan's oil and oil companies are moving into the upper White Nile areas to explore drilling options. Logging companies want to exploit the teak forests. Road construction and water diversion projects are under way.
Human encroachment could be the greatest threat. Nomadic tribes are pushing into wildlife areas, bringing with them cattle -- which compete for limited grazing areas and water -- in the past they used bows and arrows to hunt --now, they have automatic weapons.
Nyanyo, a Murle herdsman toting an AK-47 puts the conflict in stark terms, "I have a question for you: You say we must not kill the wildlife because otherwise they will be finished. Now I have to slaughter one of my cows. So in a few years I will have no cows. So you want me to kill all my cows and have nothing?"
To protect the wildlife zones, fighters from the civil war are being turned into rangers tasked with protecting the land and stopping poachers. They are being set up in remote outposts with radio communication. Often, they are the only law-enforcement in the area for miles.
But they are usually outmanned and outgunned, and for the people here -- among the poorest in the world -- protecting wildlife comes a distant second to survival.
"When I was young I was used to eating meat from wildlife but now people give me conditions," says Nyanyo, "If you kill animals we find you, we take your gun, with which I'm also defending my life. It looks like you want to finish me."
The conservationists argue that without the wildlife they will have nothing. Elkan says that the Southern Sudan has a brief window of opportunity to come up with a strategy for conserving the land and, ultimately, helping the people.
"They will be much more poor if they don't have a wildlife resource base. The poorest people in the world are those who live in environmentally degraded places."
Monday, December 7, 2009
CNN) -- The death of World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Edward Fatu, who wrestled under the name "Umaga," has sparked discussion in wrestling circles over the rigors of the sport.
Fatu, 36, died Friday of a heart attack in a hospital in Houston, Texas, a family friend confirmed.
Also known as "The Samoan Bulldozer," the 6-foot-4-inch, 350-pound wrestler earned a reputation for executing moves with more ease than one might expect from someone his size, facing off in high-profile bouts with WWE celebrities such as Triple H and Ric Flair.
"He was basically known for being an athletic, big man who carried some extra weight around, but moved very well for a guy his size," said Kevin Eck, an assistant sports editor of the Baltimore Sun who also runs its professional-wrestling blog, Ring Posts.
Comments on Eck's blog range from messages of condolences to speculation over whether drugs were involved and the struggles wrestlers grapple with outside of the ring.
"[H]ardly do we realize what do these wrestlers go through.....not that long ago he looked as if he could go on for 20 years in the ring looking as vicious as he was," one post says.
Fatu worked on and off for the WWE for several years before the organization terminated his contract in June for violating the WWE's Wellness Program and refusing to enter rehab, the WWE said on its Web site, without providing specifics. The organization offered its condolences to Fatu's family in a brief statement on its site.
Details of Fatu's death have not been released, but Eck said the death highlights a larger problem of professional wrestlers dying in their 30s and 40s.
Fatu's death comes less than nine months after Canadian pro wrestler Andrew Test Martin reportedly died of a drug overdose, and follows a string of high-profile deaths in the past decade, including those of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero.
"It's happening a lot more frequently in the sport than it ever did, and it's a huge problem," Eck said. "If this was Major League Baseball and you had guys dropping dead under 40, it would be a much bigger deal -- but because it's wrestling, it flies under the radar."
Though wrestlers today have more support systems available through the WWE and other groups, the rigors of the sport have increased dramatically compared to the days of Capt. Lou Albano, who died this year at 76, Eck said.
"The expectations for what wrestlers are supposed to look like have evolved. In Albano's day, some were in good shape, some were not, but you didn't see the superhuman physiques like you started seeing in the 80s," he said.
As the industry has gone global, wrestlers also are traveling more and going farther than they did pre-WWE, when wrestlers and promoters worked within limited territories, he said. And the demands in the ring are higher than ever.
"You could get by with doing less back in the day, you didn't see a lot of high-risk maneuvers. And as it has evolved, so has the need to do more risky-looking stunts, and that's why guys get a lot of bumps and bruises, and you can sort of make the correlation that that leads to more painkillers."
In an interview with CNN after Albano's death, WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the organization provides medical assistance and financial guidance through the WWE's Wellness Program to all its wrestlers, even though they are considered independent contractors.
"If they're injured on the job in the ring, we take care of their medical expenses and get them to the best doctors possible," Zimmerman said. "In addition to their physical well-being, we also take them through financial counseling and financial workshops so they know what to do with their money as far as income, earnings and sponsorships. And those are just a few aspects of the program."
To friends and family, Fatu was a devoted family man who was looking forward to spending more time with his children after leaving the WWE.
"He had his demons, but he found a lot of strength in his family," said family friend and former WWE personality Dawn Marie Psaltis. "He comes from a long line of professional wrestlers and did his family proud."
Psaltis, the founder of Wrestlers Rescue, a support group for aging and retired wrestlers, says Fatu's death highlights the unique struggles that wrestlers face as independent contractors who don't receive the benefits of athletes or professional actors.
Like many wrestlers, Fatu did not have health insurance when he died, leaving friends and family scrambling to cover his medical expenses, Psaltis said.
"We make above average income, but most of what we make goes toward the expense of being in the business, and health care is a huge expense for a wrestler," Psaltis said.
Psaltis said she started Wrestlers Rescue with the goal of working with insurance companies to create an affordable health care plan for wrestlers.
"To find health care that covers wrestlers costs quadruple the price of regular coverage, so a lot of the guys end up going without. They continue to wrestle way past their prime because there's no pension, and because there's no health care, they never prepared for their future health concerns. It's an endless cycle."
But Psaltis and former WWE diva Terri Runnels say camaraderie and the thrill of being in the ring are worth the risks.
"Yes, we make good money, but for what we do it's paltry. We are like paupers compared to most other professions, but our pride in entertaining and making sure that when you pay money and come to a show you are absolutely entertained, that's why we do what we do," Runnels said.
Fatu, 36, died Friday of a heart attack in a hospital in Houston, Texas, a family friend confirmed.
Also known as "The Samoan Bulldozer," the 6-foot-4-inch, 350-pound wrestler earned a reputation for executing moves with more ease than one might expect from someone his size, facing off in high-profile bouts with WWE celebrities such as Triple H and Ric Flair.
"He was basically known for being an athletic, big man who carried some extra weight around, but moved very well for a guy his size," said Kevin Eck, an assistant sports editor of the Baltimore Sun who also runs its professional-wrestling blog, Ring Posts.
Comments on Eck's blog range from messages of condolences to speculation over whether drugs were involved and the struggles wrestlers grapple with outside of the ring.
"[H]ardly do we realize what do these wrestlers go through.....not that long ago he looked as if he could go on for 20 years in the ring looking as vicious as he was," one post says.
Fatu worked on and off for the WWE for several years before the organization terminated his contract in June for violating the WWE's Wellness Program and refusing to enter rehab, the WWE said on its Web site, without providing specifics. The organization offered its condolences to Fatu's family in a brief statement on its site.
Details of Fatu's death have not been released, but Eck said the death highlights a larger problem of professional wrestlers dying in their 30s and 40s.
Fatu's death comes less than nine months after Canadian pro wrestler Andrew Test Martin reportedly died of a drug overdose, and follows a string of high-profile deaths in the past decade, including those of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero.
"It's happening a lot more frequently in the sport than it ever did, and it's a huge problem," Eck said. "If this was Major League Baseball and you had guys dropping dead under 40, it would be a much bigger deal -- but because it's wrestling, it flies under the radar."
Though wrestlers today have more support systems available through the WWE and other groups, the rigors of the sport have increased dramatically compared to the days of Capt. Lou Albano, who died this year at 76, Eck said.
"The expectations for what wrestlers are supposed to look like have evolved. In Albano's day, some were in good shape, some were not, but you didn't see the superhuman physiques like you started seeing in the 80s," he said.
As the industry has gone global, wrestlers also are traveling more and going farther than they did pre-WWE, when wrestlers and promoters worked within limited territories, he said. And the demands in the ring are higher than ever.
"You could get by with doing less back in the day, you didn't see a lot of high-risk maneuvers. And as it has evolved, so has the need to do more risky-looking stunts, and that's why guys get a lot of bumps and bruises, and you can sort of make the correlation that that leads to more painkillers."
In an interview with CNN after Albano's death, WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman said the organization provides medical assistance and financial guidance through the WWE's Wellness Program to all its wrestlers, even though they are considered independent contractors.
"If they're injured on the job in the ring, we take care of their medical expenses and get them to the best doctors possible," Zimmerman said. "In addition to their physical well-being, we also take them through financial counseling and financial workshops so they know what to do with their money as far as income, earnings and sponsorships. And those are just a few aspects of the program."
To friends and family, Fatu was a devoted family man who was looking forward to spending more time with his children after leaving the WWE.
"He had his demons, but he found a lot of strength in his family," said family friend and former WWE personality Dawn Marie Psaltis. "He comes from a long line of professional wrestlers and did his family proud."
Psaltis, the founder of Wrestlers Rescue, a support group for aging and retired wrestlers, says Fatu's death highlights the unique struggles that wrestlers face as independent contractors who don't receive the benefits of athletes or professional actors.
Like many wrestlers, Fatu did not have health insurance when he died, leaving friends and family scrambling to cover his medical expenses, Psaltis said.
"We make above average income, but most of what we make goes toward the expense of being in the business, and health care is a huge expense for a wrestler," Psaltis said.
Psaltis said she started Wrestlers Rescue with the goal of working with insurance companies to create an affordable health care plan for wrestlers.
"To find health care that covers wrestlers costs quadruple the price of regular coverage, so a lot of the guys end up going without. They continue to wrestle way past their prime because there's no pension, and because there's no health care, they never prepared for their future health concerns. It's an endless cycle."
But Psaltis and former WWE diva Terri Runnels say camaraderie and the thrill of being in the ring are worth the risks.
"Yes, we make good money, but for what we do it's paltry. We are like paupers compared to most other professions, but our pride in entertaining and making sure that when you pay money and come to a show you are absolutely entertained, that's why we do what we do," Runnels said.
PERUGIA, Italy — American college student Amanda Knox was found guilty of murdering her British roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison early Saturday after a year-long trial that gripped Italy and drew intense media attention.
Her co-defendant, former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years. The two also were found guilty of sexual assault in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England.
"No, no," Knox said, bursting into tears and clinging to one of her lawyers as the judge read the verdict just after midnight following some 13 hours of deliberations.
Minutes later, the 22-year-old Knox, who is from Seattle, and the 25-year-old Sollecito were put in police vans with sirens blaring and driven back to jail.
Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment, Italy's stiffest sentence. Courts can give less severe punishment than what prosecutors demand.
The American's father, Curt Knox, asked if he would fight on for his daughter, replied, with tears in his eyes: "Hell, yes."
"This is just wrong," her stepmother, Cassandra Knox, said, turning around immediately after hearing the verdict. Her family had insisted she was innocent and a victim of character assassination.
The family said later in a statement they would appeal the ruling.
Her co-defendant, former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years. The two also were found guilty of sexual assault in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England.
"No, no," Knox said, bursting into tears and clinging to one of her lawyers as the judge read the verdict just after midnight following some 13 hours of deliberations.
Minutes later, the 22-year-old Knox, who is from Seattle, and the 25-year-old Sollecito were put in police vans with sirens blaring and driven back to jail.
Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment, Italy's stiffest sentence. Courts can give less severe punishment than what prosecutors demand.
The American's father, Curt Knox, asked if he would fight on for his daughter, replied, with tears in his eyes: "Hell, yes."
"This is just wrong," her stepmother, Cassandra Knox, said, turning around immediately after hearing the verdict. Her family had insisted she was innocent and a victim of character assassination.
The family said later in a statement they would appeal the ruling.
RadarOnline.com reports that Jamie Jungers, a Las Vegas model, is the latest woman to allegedly have had an affair with Tiger Woods.
A MySpace search for Jamie Jungers reveals a profile for a 26-year-old Las Vegas blonde with the same name. While it is not clear that the profile belongs to the woman who allegedly slept with Woods, the profile picture matches a photo at RadarOnline.com. Similarly, a Facebook search for Jamie Jungers also yields a profile whose photograph looks strikingly similar to the MySpace picture. See pictures below.
LOOK:
A MySpace search for Jamie Jungers reveals a profile for a 26-year-old Las Vegas blonde with the same name. While it is not clear that the profile belongs to the woman who allegedly slept with Woods, the profile picture matches a photo at RadarOnline.com. Similarly, a Facebook search for Jamie Jungers also yields a profile whose photograph looks strikingly similar to the MySpace picture. See pictures below.
LOOK:
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