Wild Elephants: Make Sure to Carry Your Photo ID!

Mother and baby elephant crossing the road in Chobe National Park, Botswana In 2004, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to Botswana’s Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, and Chobe National Park.

This area of northern Botswana is a model of wildlife preservation. I look back on my experience and think of Botswana as “the land of the elephant”.

Unfortunately, this is not true in much of the rest of the world.

In an effort to monitor elephant populations in India and protect elephants from poaching, wildlife groups in cooperation with the Wildlife Conservation Fund have created photo identification cards to help monitor and track individual elephants throughout southern India.

Poaching is a major problem for the Indian (and African) elephant. Estimates are that there are at least 26,400 elephants in India, but that the entire population of the Indian elephant throughout its 13 country range is at risk of decimation through illegal (and immoral, if I may say so) poaching. Since the 1970's poaching has become a process of mass murder through the use of automatic weapons. To me, this is unconscionable. There are many ways you can help the efforts of stopping this senseless slaughter in the links below. We can all start by avoiding the purchase of ivory and ivory products.

Sources and Information:
Elephant Ivory Trade Ban
IvoryTrade.com
Wildlife Conservation Fund
IvoryNet.com
The Humane Society - Elephant Fact Sheet

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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Lauren said:

I agree with you. They kill elephants for what reason? So, that they can ful fill their own wants? If it were for a real need than that would obviously be different. At least they're doing something about it.

Posted at 07:15 PM, on August 18 2007

2

Tom said:

You're right Lauren. This is pure greed that motivates this sort of slaughter. I hope the efforts of conservationists will be able to stop this elephant poaching once and for all.

Posted at 06:31 PM, on August 19 2007

Wild Elephants: Make Sure to Carry Your Photo ID!

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