Controversial topic
Habitat loss is one of the key threats elephants face. However,
there are other issues that continue to threaten the sustainability of the
elephant population. These include the increasing conflict that elephants face
with human populations taking over more and more of the elephants’ habitat, as
well as ivory poaching. Ivory poaching is one of the most controversial topics,
when discussing the rapid decline in elephants over the years.
Ivory
poaching is when an elephant is killed and their bodies are left to rot in
the sun for their tusk and teeth. Poachers seek older elephants because of
their large tusk leaving young elephants as orphans to raise themselves. Ivory is formed from dentine and constitutes
the bulk of the teeth and tusks of the elephant. Because African elephants are so massive
compared to Asian elephants they are sought after more for their ivory.
In the 1970’s the demand for elephant ivory was
so high that it threatened to make the elephant population extinct. Each day 200 African elephants were killed
for their ivory. Over a 15 year period from 1970 to1985 the elephant population
decreased by half. In order to stop the elephant population from going extinct,
The
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species also
known as CITES banned the international trade of ivory to restore the elephant
population in 1989.
After learning about the ivory trade I was very shocked to learn that
elephants were being killed just to make a materialistic objects for humans. I felt that these poor intelligent animals were dying for no reason. I was happy
to learn that there was a ban put on selling and trading of ivory but I know
that it doesn’t stop it from happening. After watching the documentary that is in the link above I really truly wanted to make sure that this issue does not continue. I feel that although a ban has been placed on ivory trade more needs to be done so that more innocent elephants are not continuously killed for their tusk.
Ref:
3.http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/afelephants_threats/
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