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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC

    Elephants, And Their Plight..

    The largest creatures on land are still in trouble from poaching for their tusks and meat, yet little is being said about these days as was not the case a few decades ago.
    Used to be you could not turn on the news without witnessing the slaughter of these magnificent creatures.
    The three species (yes, three) of elephants are all still being poached, even though most governments are trying hard in most cases to stop it.
    The three extant species are:
    African Bush Elephant (loxodonta africana)

    African Forest Elephant (loxodonta cyclotis)

    Asian Elephant (elephas maximus)

    The African Bush Elephant is the largest species, with big bulls standing as much as 12 feet at the shoulder. They have four toes on the front feet and three on the back, and can weigh as much as six tons. Found on plains of sub Saharan Africa, traveling in groups of twenty or more. The current population is around 230,000.

    The African Forest Elephant is found in Gabon and neighboring regions of the Congo. As their name suggests, they inhabit forests and especially along river basins. Smaller than the Bush Elephant, with more rounded ears, and having five front toes and four on the back like the Asian Elephant. Males of this species grow to nine feet at the shoulder and weigh up to two and a half tons. Once considered a race of the Bush Elephant, genetic tests have confirmed it a separate species. The tusks are smaller and straighter than the Bush Elephant. The current population is estimated at 100,000.

    The Asian Elephant is the one most often seen in movies and captivity, because of its more tractable nature. Found in India, Cambodia, Thailand, and other regions of southern Asia. Unique because of its small ears, convex back, and longer trunk than its African relatives. Big bulls can be as much as ten feet at the shoulder. This elephant is the species most closely related to the mammoths. Population is around 53,000 today.
    In the old Tarzan movies, fake large ears were attached to these animals to make them look like African elephants!
    All elephants still need help from us to survive. More pressure should be brought to bear on countries where these great creatures survive.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, NC
    And one less fighting the cause.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42943503

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    Sad news. Just 50 years ago there were over one million African Bush elephants, and 500,000 Forest elephants. Asian elephants numbered over 200,000 at that time..

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Ashburn, VA
    Our 4 year old recently randomly selected "A Passion for Elephants: The Real Life Adventure of Field Scientist Cynthia Moss" from the library, and now has had all sorts of questions about ivory, poaching, etc.
    A text without a context is a pretext.

  5. #5
    This is why most of my charitable giving goes to wildlife conservation. Getting up close with elephants while on Safari in Krueger was definitely a bucket-list experience.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Thomasville, NC
    People can say what they want about the USA's Wildlife policies, but, unlike most other countries, our success stories of bringing back our endangered wildlife are legion.
    The bald eagle was once gravely endangered, but now is once again a fairly common sight around our waterways. The peregrine falcon has also made a remarkable comeback. The gray wolf is now back in areas it was shot out of, as is the grizzly bear, which is the inland race of the great coastal brown bears of Alaska.
    The red headed woodpecker suffered a severe decline in the 60's and 70's, because of toxins in treated telephone poles. This species is currently on the rebound, and is once again fairly common, especially in pine forests. The red cockaded woodpecker is still endangered, but has shown some resurgence in recent years, especially in the Carolinas. Eastern bluebirds also declined because of competition with invading English sparrows and starlings for nesting sites, but a program to install nesting boxes to exclude sparrows and starlings has led to the bluebird being very common once again. The trick was to install the boxes no more than five feet off the ground, as sparrows and starlings will not nest that low.
    One thing that does irk me is how some animals receive protection, while more deserving ones are forgotten. Case in point. The polar bear. A spectacular, beautiful creature, it has become the poster child for endangered wildlife. The fact is, the polar bear has a total estimated population of over 30,000, up from just 10,000 in the 70's. But few people have heard of the Amur leopard, who now exists with a total of 45 or so animals..

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