The Elephant is something to marvel at there is no animal quite like them. Between its shear size (the largest terrestrial mammal alive today), the familiar emotions they share with humans such as mourning for their dead, or their unique features like their large trunks, tusks, and ears, there is nothing that compares. These are some reasons why this large beautiful animal should not be taken for granted in today’s society. Unfortunately they have been between the illegal poaching for ivory, human elephant conflict regarding land usage, and environmental factors; they have become endangered.
In the beginning of the 1800’s it is estimated that there were 26 million elephants roaming our planet. At that time many animals were at their peak, were thriving; to understand just how drastically humans have impacted the elephant population it takes looking at the sharp decline. Starting in the early 1900’s to hunt down an elephant on an African safari was seen with high esteem. As time went on ivory from the elephant’s tusks began to be sold largely for piano keys, pool balls, brush handles, and combs. As popularity of these commodities rose mass production increased and soon in 1913 the U.S. alone was importing 200 tons of ivory each year. To put into perspective just how sharply the population dropped from the early 1900’s the population started out around 10 million and in 1979 it was estimated to be at 1.3 million.
The ivory trade is devastating towards elephants and is only growing in time despite authoritative efforts. According to Elephant Daily an elephant is killed every fifteen minutes, and in the last 4 years poachers have killed up to a third of the population. By 1989 the population had fallen again to 600,000 and that is wh...
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...d species, such as elephants, which were seen as having a political, economic or land-use advantage over local people. (9)
Crop damage in particular has caused a huge strain on humans and elephants, farmers need to protect their lively hoods and elephants need a place to roam free without being a burden.
Efforts are being taken by many organizations to save the elephants but there are a lot of factors in place and the future is looking grim for these unique mammals. With raising awareness of ivory trade especially to Chinese citizens along with some other Asian countries a decline could be in the future. The human-elephant conflict is a little harder to remedy but that doesn’t mean is impossible. Action needs to be made now though and at a fast pace otherwise we could be looking at a world twenty years down the road where elephants will only be seen in captivity.
So far this book was a nice little surprise. Like previously stated, upon picking this book up one would think that the author is crazy for writing about the lifestyles of elephants. But when it is actually explored and read its written style and messages make for this book to be taken in very easily and fluently. This language used is at the perfect level, and the subject level is complex enough that the reader has to make connections themselves or else they will become confused almost guaranteed.
Sources used in this piece were interviews with zoo staff and also visuals in the form of photographs of the elephant. Unknown, “Hattie, Central Park Elephant, Dies; News Hidden to keep Sad Children Away.” The New York Times. November 20,
Prejudice plays a big part in “Shooting an Elephant.” It is seen in the relationship between the Burmese natives and the narrator,
Each author has the same purpose in writing about the elephant studies and there are many similarities and differences in which the elephants behaved.
Wildlife conservationists are constantly working to supervise the rivers, forest, and other natural resources of Africa in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management. In Kenya, laws against trophy hunting has assisted these conservationists in maintaining wildlife populations. However, park rangers face a huge battle against the illegal poaching of these rare trophy animals, such as lions and elephants. In Asia, the demand for ivory continues to surge, despite the long-time ban on its international trade. The demand is so high that the Tanzanian government has developed plans to construct a commercial highway through the Serengeti in order to more efficiently trade goods with Asia (“The Need for Serengeti Watch”). However, the highway will also provide a faster route to the coast for ivory smugglers. The controversy surrounding the highway and its positive or negative effects on the economy, Tanzania as a whole, and the Serengeti is countless. Despite the debate over its benefits and...
Cohn, Jeffrey P. "Do Elephants Belong In Zoos?" Bioscience 56.9 (2006): 714-717. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall.
The Asian Elephant is an endangered species of elephants located in southeastern Asia1,2. The Asian Elephant can be differentiated from elephants found in Africa by their smaller stature and smaller, rounded ears1. Asian Elephants live predominantly in forest environments where grasses are plentiful but are also known to live in grasslands. Asian Elephants generally consume grasses but also consume other plant matter like roots, plant stems, and plant leaves. Asian Elephants are highly social beings and form small groups of elephants lead by the eldest female elephant2. These small groups of elephants occasionally form larger groups, called herds, with other groups of elephants.
From the beginning of the narrative “Shooting An Elephant,” George Orwell creates a character with a diminished sense of self. The character narrates, “I was hated by large numbers of people -- the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me” (Orwell, 58). All he wants is attention and it is evident that even negative attention is better than being ignored. He hates working for the British as a sub-divisional police officer in the town of Moulmein. He even makes it known to the audience that, “Theoretically -- and secretly, of course -- I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (58). The character knows he does not want to be in this position, as a Anglo-Indian
Elephants are an endangered species and they should not be killed for their ivory or they will become extinct. In the article The Poaching Problem the author writes” elephant populations have declined to dangerously low levels.” At the rate that poachers are killing these innocent animal the entire species of elephants will be extinct in the year 2030! That is only twenty five years, I know that does not seem like a long time but it is going to go by fast and every one will regret killing all those poor innocent gentle creatures. In case study 483 they author writes “ During the 1970s and 1980s elephant poaching had included about 1.3 million elephants killed for their tusks.” It is hard to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory so it is sold easily.
to 11,000. The 1989 ban on elephant ivory is the main cause attributed to the
The number of African and Asian elephants in North American zoos is declining as a result of many medical issues. A new disease has recently been discovered that is now hindering elephant’s ability to survive even further. This is a major problem because according to Science Magazine, as of 1997, there are only an estimated 291 Asian elephants and 193 African elephants left in North American zoos. Since this survey was conducted, this number has severely declined. It is now estimated that for every elephant that is born in a zoo another three die.
Elephants are gentle giants that primarily live in Africa. They have a long line of how they became what they are today. The elephants may be very large animals but they are huge prey for big game hunters. There is a lot to tell from where they begin to where they are now.
In conclusion zoos in America are making attempts to accommodate elephants better, the local Sedgwick county zoo is planning to increase to size of the elephants enclosure. All zoos with elephants should either move them to large sanctuaries or release them back into the wild or even increase the enclosure, but no enclosure will be big enough. The cost to increase the size of orca pools would be too costly. Orcas need to be released back into the wild; the risks of keeping them captive outweigh everything else. Instead of using valuable resources on keeping elephants and orcas captive they should be focused on using the resources on protecting the wild ones and their environments.
What do you think about when you hear the word Africa? How about the word safari? Most people tend to think about elephants or giraffes. In this paper I will tell you many important facts about elephants: how they live, their appearance, and many other interesting facts about them. There are two different kinds of elephants; the African elephant and the Asian elephant (also known as the Indian elephant). The African elephant is the larger of the two.