1000 Flowers for the Planet - #417 Save the Elephants

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #417 Save the Elephants

In Africa an elephant is killed every 15 minutes! At this rate there will be NO elephants living in the wild by 2025. At this rate there will be NO elephants living in the wild by 2025. Yes, I did think that was worth repeating, twice! because I’ve already stated this in Flower #301.

Elephants are being poached (that’s killed) for their tusks, which are made of ivory, which demands a really high price, particularly in the East (Flower #253). That’s why so many are being killed daily. It’s a difficult problem, but one which needs to be addressed immediately if any future generations are to be able to see these magnificent creatures in the wild. Otherwise, as with mountain gorillas and orang-utans, we will only be able to look at pictures of these animals. Another problem faced by these gentle giants is loss of habitat, which is ultimately due to over-population of humans, who claim more and more land for food production and places to live. As large beasts, they need large areas to roam, but when humans take away their land, elephants have less food to eat, so their numbers must naturally dwindle. It’s a double-edged sword for them. You can learn how to help African elephants at: www.ssavetheelephants.org and Asian elephants at www.saveelephant.org by donating, supporting and spreading the word.

Elephants are an important part of the ecosystem. They are part of the whole picture and without them this picture will alter irreparably. At http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/elephant it says: the seeds of many plant species are dependent on passing through an elephant's digestive tract before they can germinate. It is calculated that at least a third of tree species in central African forests rely on elephants in this way for distribution of seeds. That’s an interesting fact! And it demonstrates how much is at risk. Help turn this around – today.