Funny Little Elephant - Elephants in Trouble

This is actually a flower illustration on my robe but when I look at it I see a funny little elephant balancing a slice of watermelon.  Maybe, in seeing it that way, I am thinking about the plight of the elephants worldwide.  

Elephants  are the largest living land mammals on earth.  They are social and loving, forming strong bonds and choosing their leaders, not by aggression, but by respect from the others in the herd.  An elephant herd usually comprises six to twelve elephants and it is led by the oldest (and the one considered to be the wisest) female "the matriarch". In their native habitat, elephants can live to be around 70 years old and they have phenomenal memories, remembering and maintaining emotional bonds for many years.

​But sadly elephants, particularly the African ones because of their massive tusks, are in peril and humans pose by far the greatest threat to to them.  They have suffered from intensive hunting for the ivory of their tusks and for trophies.  An estimated 96 African elephants are killed by poachers every day.  They could be driven to extinction by poaching, fueled increasingly by terrorist groups raising mullions of dollars from selling poached tusks if we do not fight back to protect them.  It is thought that from 1930 - 1940 there were 3 to 5 million elephants roaming Africa; now the numbers are in the hundreds.  California just passed AB 96 to close the enforcement loophole in the state ivory ban and also the trade in rhinoceros horns as well.

​We can learn more about these magnificent and wonderful creatures on the Internet and support the many organizations trying to save them.  Among those are the World Wildlife Fund, The International Elephant Foundation, 96 Elephants, Save the Elephants and the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, the largest elephant habitat refuge in the U.S. There are many other efforts as well.
Explore and see where you can help these noble animals.

---