Too many elephants

Most wildlife biologists back some version of lifting the elephant-trading ban. Among them is David Cummings of the World Wide Fund for Nature. His studies show that both the numbers of humans and the numbers of domestic livestock in Zimbabwe have reached their carrying capacity. Add an elephant population twice the size the land can carry, and you will see a dim future for Africa's wildlife.

I may have gotten a glimpse of what wildlife would be like if Zimbabwe's proposals are not seriously considered. In a highly secured area near Matusadonha National Park, I saw one of the few surviving black rhinos. Warden Zephania Muketiwa had taken me through a series of security checkpoints manned by an anti-poaching force.

I found myself looking at a pair of rhinos calmly browsing the fodder trees they share with the elephants. Next to them stood a tall, thin, intense man with an AK-47, cocked and ready. The animals are guarded 24 hours a day.

While gazing at this unsettling scene, I remembered a nugget of wisdom I'd gleaned from Jonathan Kingdon, probably the world's leading authority on African wildlife. Animals have many values, and one of them is what they tell us about ourselves. Mr. Kingdon said, ''Animals are good for seeing!''

Tom Wolf teaches sustainable ecology and economics at Colorado College. He recently returned from Zimbabwe.

Pub Date: 6/16/97