Everyone has heard the phrase, “elephants never forget”. They are hands-down one of the most amazing creatures that have ever walked the Earth. If you have seen one, whether in a zoo, a circus, or even the wild, they are meant to impress. They are majestic and smart creatures. Elephants can recognize their own reflection in the mirror and their lifespans can reach up to 60 years. To put this into perspective, the average human lifespan in the USA is about 78 years according to USA Today in 2014. They are not too far off from ourselves.
A recent breaking news update from CNN hit my phone Wednesday morning that seriously disturbed me. It read that, according to a new study, there has been a massive drop in elephant numbers in Africa that is much lower than they could have ever imagined. Read the full great elephant census.
Reading the news story, I found that before the 20th century there had been over 20 million elephants in Africa. By 1979 there was 1.3 million and today there are only 352,000. By 2020, if nothing is done about it, there will be an estimated measly 160,000 elephants on the continent. Eventually, in our lifetimes or our children’s lifetimes, they will be extinct if nothing changes. Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and Mozambique’s Niassa Reserve are two well known elephant preserves in Africa. However, elephant populations have gone down by more than 75% in the past ten years due to poachers.
Elephants never forget but we do. We forget that we do not live in fear everyday of being killed like they do. We forget the injustices that are happening around the world because there are so many of them. We forget other problems to remember our own. I hope that if we have faith and do what we can that maybe we can preserve these creature’s safety. There are many places where you can donate to help conservationists and reserves. I know today I will be donating in the hope that, with enough people, we can make an impact no matter how small.
If you would also like to donate today here is a list of some popular sites:
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https://elephantconservation.org/donate/donation/ (donates 90% directly to elephants)
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http://savetheelephants.org/get-involved/donate/ (donates 100% directly to elephants)
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http://www.bloodyivory.org/make-a-donation (donates 100% directly to elephants)