Monday, March 4, 2013

Major Decline in African Elephant Population - Lysette Barrera



Poachers have been killing and illegally selling the ivory of elephants for a long time, but a study has revealed that a whopping 62% of the elephant population in Central Africa has disappeared in the span of ten years. African forest elephants are headed for extinction. Snares and bullet castings have been found, supporting the fact that humans are the cause of elephant decline. Almost one third of African elephant land has become dangerous because of poachers. Consumer demand in the Far East coincides with the rise of poaching in Central Africa.  Thailand's prime minister ha agreed to ban ivory trade. Conservationists are immediately working to protect the African elephant population.

“Like you and me, elephants are incredibly social beings and are raised in large families. Thinning out the herd implies a loss of family values in both human and elephant societies. Poachers usually go after the elephants with the largest tusks, and the largest tusks belong to the oldest members of the family. Killing the older members of a family leads to the abandonment of young calves, and the loss of intergenerational knowledge transference that is detrimental to the survival of the whole herd. The calves who lose their mothers, grandmothers, and sisters to guns and saws, bear deep psychological and emotional scars from seeing their kith and kin slaughtered before their own eyes. Elephants grieve, they mourn loss over extended periods of time. The phrase 'Boy do you have the memory of an elephant' takes on a disconcerting meaning in this context.” 

- Asher Jay, an artist and cause-fighter


Who even really needs ivory anyways seriously.
Hey let's kill an elephant so I can have my pretty bracelet yay.


5 comments:

  1. I don't understand why humans just keep on doing such things without regrets.

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  2. I agree that people shouldn't kill elephants for their tusks. Even if the ivory is valuable, it really isn't worth killing elephants. The fact that they're going extinct is another reason to not hunt them.

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  3. I love elephants they are my favorite animals and to read this is so sad. I cant believe people find pleasure in doing this to the animals.

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  4. I also agree that elephants should not be killed because it just isn't right. I would hate for humans to be the cause of another animal extinction. We do so much harm to the environment, and I would think that humans would learn their lesson about harming life for no good reason, but I guess not. I don't want us to make more bad decisions that we will end up regretting in the future. We shouldn't have to wait for elephants to die to learn that maybe killing animals isn't the right thing to do. I can understand the hunting of animals for food and nourishment, but if it is just for ivory, then it isn't really worth it. I hope we can save the elephants.

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  5. You’ve got some interesting points in this article. I would have never considered any of these if I didn’t come across this. Thanks!. view more

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