Elephant has not been hopeful. Daily reports document a devastating crisis claiming roughly 35,000 of these highly social and intelligent animals a year. Killed for their tusks to satisfy today's nearly insatiable ivory demand, elephants are disappearing at an alarming rate from countries where they were once abundant.Against the backdrop of declines in east and central Africa (where a catastrophic 65 percent of the forest elephant population has been killed since 2002), as well as in Asia, it is essential to celebrate conservation efforts that are working to protect these magnificent animals so that these efforts can be supported, expanded, and replicated.
Governments and local communities to stop poaching, reduce human-wildlife conflict and improve monitoring and research.Here’s a snapshot of what you should know about the species:
1. Asian and African elephants differ in both size and the shape of their ears. Asian elephants are smaller than their African brethren, and their ears are straight at the bottom, distinct from the large fan-shaped ears of the African species. Only some Asian male elephants have tusks, while African elephants—both male and female—sport the ivory.
2. Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal—22 months. Females give birth every four to five years. Matriarchs also dominate the complex social structure of elephants and calves, while male elephants tend to live in isolation.
3. Elephants are either left- or right-tusked, and the dominant tusk is generally smaller because of wear and tear from frequent use.
4. An elephant trunk has up to 150,000 muscles in it. A human has more than 600 muscles in his/her entire body. Elephants use their trunks to pick up objects, trumpet warnings and greet one another.
5. At least a third of tree species in central African forests rely on seeds passing through an elephant’s digestive tract before they can germinate.
6. As wild spaces shrink, elephants and humans are forced into contact and often clash. They helps to mitigate elephant-human conflict through various programs, including elephant “flying squad” to safely drive wild elephants away from farms and back into the forests.
1. Asian and African elephants differ in both size and the shape of their ears. Asian elephants are smaller than their African brethren, and their ears are straight at the bottom, distinct from the large fan-shaped ears of the African species. Only some Asian male elephants have tusks, while African elephants—both male and female—sport the ivory.
2. Elephants have the longest gestation period of any mammal—22 months. Females give birth every four to five years. Matriarchs also dominate the complex social structure of elephants and calves, while male elephants tend to live in isolation.
3. Elephants are either left- or right-tusked, and the dominant tusk is generally smaller because of wear and tear from frequent use.
4. An elephant trunk has up to 150,000 muscles in it. A human has more than 600 muscles in his/her entire body. Elephants use their trunks to pick up objects, trumpet warnings and greet one another.
5. At least a third of tree species in central African forests rely on seeds passing through an elephant’s digestive tract before they can germinate.
6. As wild spaces shrink, elephants and humans are forced into contact and often clash. They helps to mitigate elephant-human conflict through various programs, including elephant “flying squad” to safely drive wild elephants away from farms and back into the forests.
7. Tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year by poachers for their ivory.This poaching and illegal wildlife trade by training and equipping rangers and community-based organizations to tackle poaching, and strengthening national and international laws and enforcement.
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