Will elephants still roam the earth in 20 years? (illegal, retired, Tennessee)

[SoggyBottoms]

Booming illegal ivory trade taking severe toll on Africa's elephants, groups say.

(CNN) -- Elephants are being killed in Africa at an alarming rate by increasingly efficient and well-armed poachers as international demand soars for the ivory from their tusks, wildlife conservation groups say.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/05/world/africa/africa-ivory-elephant-slaughter/index.html?hpt=iaf_c1

It's sad that in the 21st century we still have to worry about animals going extinct due to hunting and poaching for vanity items.

[wildflower82]

Wonder what these poor saps will do when they are gone.........I've seen the cruel way they are doing it, I'd say most of the wildlife in these areas will be gone in 40 years these people are savages. Just look what the gorilla's have gone through, seems like only American's try to educate people about wildlife and many Americans could care less.

[banjomike]

Yup. But they will all be two-footed with teabags dangling from their ears long after the real ones are long gone.

[gwynedd1]

There is nothing one can say for such a trophy of human stupidity.

[helenejen]

This is one of the sweetest videos; it's about the friendship between an elephant and a dog.

The Dog and the Elephant - The Adorable Dozen: Bizarre Animal Friendships - TIME

[Fiddlehead]

It is symbolic of many resource conservation issues. So long as someone can realize a short-term profit from something, and no direct consequence from the effect, it will continue. That is why resource extraction or any enterprise that heeds only profit is cancerous.

This is very sad news.

[sickofnyc]

It's not just the elephants...

10 Animals Which Will Be Extinct Within Your Lifetime : TreeHugger


Enriching the Chinese was a big fat stinking mistake. These are the mercenary SOB's that cut off a shark's fin and then toss the mutilated fish back in the water.

[LauraC]

We have an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. It is not open to the public.

"The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, is the nation's largest natural-habitat refuge developed specifically to meet the needs of endangered elephants. It is a non-profit organization, licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and accredited by the Association of Sanctuaries, designed specifically for old, sick or needy elephants who have been retired from zoos and circuses. Utilizing more than 2700 acres, it provides three separate and protected, natural-habitat environments for Asian and African elephants. Our residents are not required to perform or entertain for the public; instead, they are encouraged to live like elephants."

The Elephant Sanctuary : Hohenwald Tennessee

My thought is if it can be done for old and sick elephants, it can be done for healthy ones, too.

[JL]

That is why Yao Ming has joined forces with WildAid and African WildLife Foundation to save not only elephants, but rhinos too.

Yao's Journey to Africa

[helenejen]

Oh, why did I look at a post when I knew there were images included? That pictures with all the tusks in the room is just absolutely tragic. And the little motherless baby elephant. Ugh, I just hate people sometimes. But I'm glad to see Yao Ming trying to change things. I hope he does.