African Elephant Research Paper

Textual Evidence: “Elephants are also losing their habitats—and ancient migratory routes—due to expanding human settlements, plantation development and the construction of infrastructure such as roads, canals and pipelines.”

Elephant populations suffered a drop in numbers that carried the species into the endangered animals list. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about ten million elephants lived in Africa. Presently, the ten million is reduced to half a million because of illegal hunting and habitat loss. Studies of the population show twenty-two thousand were killed in 2012 and twenty-five thousand in 2011. When comparing the death rate to the natural population growth, there is a possibility the largest mammal on Earth could be extinct soon (Vaughan 1). Because the elephant is the largest animal to walk on land, the greatly increasing human population affects the elephant population first. They live in some regions of the world that have the densest human population which continues to grow, which therefore continuously decreases their own population (Bryner 1). As the human population swiftly increases, the elephant population in turn, decreases. This is so because they cannot cohabitate the same living space. Elephants and humans cannot cohabitate because they would kill each other due to the inability to communicate. About population recovery, the Animal wildlife foundation states, “Populations of elephants- especially in Southern and Eastern Africa- that once showed promising signs of recovery could be at risk due to the recent surge in poaching for the illegal ivory trade”(1). Poaching presents one of the main issues that make recovery so difficult for these animals.

Adversaries believe that the extinction of elephants can hardly affect other species. In fact, African Elephants are essential to the survival of other animals who rely on specific conditions to live. Elephants have been proven to be crucial to the habitats of other animals. In the article “Endangered Species Can They Be Saved?”, It is reported that African elephants may not be the only ones in danger. Asian elephants’ habitats are disappearing as a result of the loss of African elephants (Allman, Schrof). The tusks of Asian elephants are normally too small to be recognized by poachers so the only reason they too are disappearing is because of the drop of their African brethren. It has been reported by activists that elephants create salt licks that are used by other animals (About the African Elephant). In the article “Endangered Species Can They Be Saved?”, it is reported that elephants open up grassland and clear the savanna for other grazers (Allman, Schrof). If elephants go extinct, these grazers will be losing their habitats and without elephants, it would take much longer to create them

The official title of the world’s largest land dwelling animal belongs to the elephant, more specifically, the African elephant. Elephants also are some of the most deadly animals, which therefore increase the danger of human and elephant interactions. The more human interactions occur, the more deaths result, whether it is the elephant or the human who dies. These animals, surprisingly, are socially apt; their trunk is used for more than just eating and drinking- it is used for socializing. They are complex animals who live in large familial herds-females stay with their family throughout their entire lives while males only stay for approximately fifteen years (Elephant Protection, 1). Elephants possess a great memory and only forget what they learn occasionally and rarely, giving way to the “an elephant never forgets” saying (Maloiy, 178c). Despite how many people use the beloved saying, elephants may not be around much longer due to the shortened life span and increased mortality rates. Due to their incisor teeth, tusks, being extremely expensive and profitable, they are being murdered for the wealth they carry. This, coupled with the life span shortening because of malicious treatments and brutal practices reduces the life span of the African elephant from 56 to 16 years and the Asian elephant from 42 to 19 years (Elephant Protection, 1). According to what the statistics show, elephants may be following their ancestors to their death. Of the group of mammals called

Because of the poaching of game like the elephant, the number of species will start to diminish. What hunters brought to the villages of Botswana was the money and the meat from the animals to feed the many people that go hungry everyday. Hunters that would take animals such as an elephant wouldn’t take any of the meat for themselves but rather they give all of the meat to the villages in the area. However, when poaching starts to take over, there will be zero meat or money that will be put back into the community. Poachers that kill elephants are only after one thing and that is the ivory from the elephant tusks. After taking the tusks, the elephant is left to rot. Another animal that is sought after by poachers in Botswana is the rhino. The rhino is poached for their horns, which are supposedly an aphrodisiac in China so the demand is high. Because of these effects, groups like SCI are so important to different places around the world. The money brought in by the hunters is used to hire conservation officers to protect the rhinos and elephants and to buy land that will be put into game preserves so the numbers of these species will increase because there aren’t any pressures from hunting or

It's a widely known fact that poaching has been detrimental to the welfare and very existence of elephants. Despite countless efforts to thwart poaching and ivory trade missions, the number of elephant deaths at the hands of poachers is still critically high. IB Times reported in 2015 that due to poaching, a staggering 35,000 African elephants are killed each year—that translates to nearly 100 elephants

The African Bush elephants are found in eastern and southern Africa. Some of the areas with the highest densities of the Bush elephant is: Tanzania, South African, Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The African Bush elephant is terrestrial. The Bush elephant usually live in the grasslands, semi-deserts and the bush lands. They also clear out forest and turn them into more of grassland, by knocking down the trees. The climate that the Bush elephant normally lives in is dry and hot. Their thin hairs and ears help them stay cool. Another way that they stay cool is that their hides become more permeable in the heat. Scientists has performed research on 13 elephants (African and Asian), they measure the release of heat and moisture. What they have found was that their skin opens up at air temperatures as low at 10°C to 12°C, this is what allows them to perspire. Elephants are different than most mammals, that sweats through glands connected to pores, elephants only have pores between their toes. Elephants do not sweat (Phillips, 1992). By all of the skin being permeable they lose more

Christy goes on to state how the economical downfall of Africa, enabled resources to kill elephants, other countries desire for ivory, and a crippling governement have factored into the circumstances that aggravated this situation. Christy states some 30,000 African elephants are slaughtered every year and emphasizes that the pace of killing is not slowing down. Elephants are not only hunted by terrorist organizations, but poor villagers, unpaid park rangers, and locals due to the influx of moneitary value they can obtain from exploiting the elephants lives. The reason poaching elephants has become so widespread in Africa and surrounding countries is primary due to the low ramifications presented to those who commit such crimes.

The poaching of elephants for their tusks has driven the animal in some countries - such as Sierra Leone and Senegal - to the point of extinction. More than 30,000 elephants were slaughtered in Africa last year alone, 382 of them in Kenya. (Stewart, 2013n n.p.).

Wildlife Conservation: Research Paper Between the years 1970 and 2010 about 50 percent of the world’s wildlife have been lost due to deforestation, poaching, overfishing, and overhunting (Dell’Amore). 5 million African elephants roamed the Earth not too long ago but currently there are roughly only 470,000 elephants around today. The novel, The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy is a story of a family of elephants that must take a journey to overcome the destruction of their habitat and poaching as well. The one thing that they are searching for is a “White Bone” that is said to have the power to reverse the drought and protect them from those that hunt them. The book not only provides the outside forces that are pushing the elephants, it also gives

800,000 seems like a huge number until it becomes clear that it used to be several million (“Basic Facts About Elephants”). Most would never guess that these numbers are those of the elephant population. Everyday the population gets smaller and smaller, and humans are the reason why, but also the only way to get those numbers back up. The elephant population has decreased immensely and could vanish if steps are not taken, humans are the only hope for seizing the poaching, ivory trade, and habitat takeover.

What ivory is the bones right next to the trunk on the elephants. Elephant population have declined because more than 50 percent have been killed. What scientist believed was that killing elephants for ivory was putting them at risk. Elephant are still being poached because of the high demand for their ivory. There were 50 elephants killed in west africa for their ivory. What animal welfare does is protect elephants from poachers. What public awareness do is make ivory illegal anti-poaching information is that patrols and money where they're needed most common are being pressured.

Outside of the potential cooperation problems between local and national governments, there is also the cultural issue that many farmers and villagers do not respect elephants. Because elephants are creatures of habit, they follow the same migration paths that their ancestors have for decades. Due to the increased agriculture in African villages, elephants often cross right through small farms or villages, destroying crops and small structures. Many African villagers who have had these encounters with elephants do not understand the Western fascination and obsession with saving an animal they perceive as a large, more destructive cockroach.

If Illegal poaching keeps killing Elpehants at the rate thats is going expeerts predict that within the next decade elephants will be an extinct species .

Just imagine life without any elephants, wiped out just like the dinosaurs. In the early 1980’s, there were more than a million reported elephants in Africa. Tragically, during that decade, 600,000 elephants were destroyed for ivory products. Today, conceivably no more than 400,000 elephants remain across the continent. Elephants are facing a very real threat of extinction; In fact, the African elephants are listed on the