28 Elephants Killed in Cameroon, Africa: Poachers Use Automatic Weapons To Gun Down Great Beasts Apparently For Ivory

Reuters reported Wednesday that 28 elephants were killed by poachers in Africa's national parks in recent weeks for their ivory tusks.

Officials at the World Wildlife Federation found the carcasses of elephants in Cameroon.

"The poachers used automatic weapons, such as AK-47s, reflecting the violent character of elephant poaching," said Zacharie Nzooh, representative for the WWF.

Authorities in the Asian port of Hong Kong have seized major smuggled shipments since October: 779 pieces of tusk were confiscated, worth the equivalent of about $1.4 million, reported NationalGeographic.com.

According to Animal Rights Action's website, "1 kilogram [two pounds] of ivory is worth between $1,000 and $1,500 in the Asian market, and each elephant tusk can weigh 10 kilograms [twenty pounds]. Just one tusk can be worth around £40,000 (UK), or $63,000 (US), once it is carved into various items."

Last year around 200 elephants in the Bouba Ndjida National Park were massacred by poachers on horseback.

The latest 28 killed add to the 62 percent decline in Africa's forest elephants over the last decade, The Examiner reported. "The country is trying to protect the park and the elephants, but given the rate this is happening, it seems a difficult problem to rectify."