Elephants have been on the international most endangered species list since 1989, when there were 600,000 worldwide (less than 1% of their original number). A dramatic increase in elephant poaching has decimated the number of Africa's elephants lately. This blog exists to ensure that elephants will still be around for future generations of 18-year-olds!
What: The single worst case of ivory poaching recorded in Kenya in nearly 20 years
Please take the time to read my friend Jeffrey Gettleman's article from the New York Times. He is the East Africa Bureau Chief for thenewspaper and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
To see a photo from Tsavo National Park from a previous post, click here.
For another video from CCTV News about this terrible news story, click here.
If you know me well, you know that my favorite food of all time is sushi. As long as I can remember, I have loved it. However, when I heard about the new record set for the sale of a single Bluefin Tuna, I thought about this blog.
What do elephants and a high priced fish have in common?
Well, this tuna sold for an extravagant amount- $1,760,000! Also, there aren't really catch limits to regulate the numbers and size of Bluefin caught. Sound familiar? From 2006 to 2011, the price of ivory in China has tripled, explaining the increase in poached ivory around the world.
When a rare commodity like ivory or rhino horn or Bluefin Tuna become less available, we humans must choose between protecting the species that remain or consuming it ourselves- before it's gone- as a luxury prize.
I personally believe it's wrong to treat parts of endangered animals like status symbols.
So, what's a sushi lover to do? The Monterey Bay Aquarium can answer that question!
Click here for their awesome seafood guide for your region of the country!
Don't worry, you can love elephants and eat your sushi too!
Did you know that elephants help make one of the world's most expensive cups of coffee? It's true! Elephants take up to 30 hours to digest the beans, and stomach acid inside the elephant breaks down the protein that makes them bitter. Black Ivory Coffee is made from pure Arabica beans, then eaten by Thai elephants and plucked from their dung a day later. But don't worry, the beans are thoroughly washed and roasted!
In 1989 the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) banned the trade of ivory. This ban was in response to extreme elephant slaughter in Africa in the 1980s. The good news was the ban worked, because soon after the price of ivory, the poaching, the illegal trade and the demand for ivory all went down. The bad news, however, is that in 2008, the ban was lifted to allow some African countries to sell stockpiled ivory to Asian countries. And THAT has fueled the current demand for illegal ivory. Experts say the current slaughter of elephants is unprecedented.
Directly above is a picture I took from the front window of an ivory shop in Chinatown, San Francisco. The sales clerk claimed that all of the ivory in the store was at least 25 years old, leftover from before the ban.
Compare these pictures. Clearly, they were selling new ivory!
Did you know that elephants have no natural predators? Sometimes, lions will prey on younger or weaker elephants. However, the main risk to elephants is humans with guns.
Kenya Wildlife Services recovered these seized guns from poachers last summer in Kenya.
“Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings in their own right, who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet.” ~Marc Bekoff
Officers at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany, N.Y., stand behind recently confiscated ivory items that were for sale or passed through New York City, a primary black market for the ongoing African slaughter of the world’s largest land mammals.
A big eis4elephants high-five to officers Nathan Favreau, Neil Stevens, Brent Wilson and Peter Fanelli!
"ALBANY—In an effort to shutter the U.S. as a modern elephant graveyard, New York regulators are now demanding more proof that intricately carved artwork and fine white jewelry abide by state law.
In New York, it is illegal to sell ivory from elephants killed after 1978. The state is now requiring retailers and wholesalers licensed to sell older ivory to show detailed provenance of all their pieces.
Wildlife groups say African poachers, including militias and armed gangs, accelerated the lucrative slaughter to about 30,000 elephants last year.
"It's up hugely," said Liz Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society. She noted the recent seizure in Malaysia of about 1,500 tusks.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare said authorities worldwide confiscated about 27 tons of ivory in 2011, estimating 25,000 to 50,000 elephants were killed that year.
Investigators over the past two years have confiscated two tons of ivory that passed through New York City, considered a primary black market supporting the slaughter of the world's largest land mammals.
New York requires ivory dealers to be licensed, although officials acknowledge there are untold numbers of unsanctioned sellers.
About 110 retailers and wholesalers were previously licensed, but the number is down to about 60 under the new, tighter provisions.
More than a dozen applications were rejected, some outright and some for partial inventories, said wildlife biologist Joseph Therrien of the Department of Environmental Conservation's special licensing unit. Other dealers' license applications are pending."
