TWO CHINESE IVORY POACHERS, who were caught in possession of more than 700 elephant tusks in Tanzania, were each sentenced to 30 years in prison or a fine of about $23 million. Tao Duanfang, a columnist, commented on Saturday:

That the two Chinese ivory smugglers refused to acknowledge their offenses or accept the sentence, to some extent, points to the fact that local wildlife resources in many African countries, although abundant, are not under proper protection.

Some see the African elephants, for example, as tradable and profitable goods; some even resent them for destroying their farmland.