Conservationists, elephant lovers celebrate World Elephant Day

Did you know it’s World Elephant Day?

If you’re spreading the word about efforts to help elephants on social media sites, check out World Elephant day for badges and banners to share and add the hashtags #WorldElephantDay #GoGrey #BeHerd #Elegram #SaveElephants #JoinTheSTAMPede #96Elephants and #SayNoToIvory.

The world’s elephant population is at its lowest in recorded history, with 12% of elephants killed for their tusks in 2012 alone.

What is more important: an ancient art form, or a survival of a species? About 800,000 African elephants have been killed over the last three decades, according to WCS. As Christy says, it’s a “human” problem resulting in violence and death.

“The broad strokes of the ivory poaching tragedy are well documented: some 30,000 African elephants are slaughtered every year for their tusks; thousands of people are attacked, raped and murdered in the path of destruction paid for in part by the trade”, the network said in a statement. No species can withstand this kind of loss and survive. But equally obviously massive public support is the most powerful tool we have to avoid these giants becoming extinct in our lifetime. In the wild, Asian elephants are also under siege. The idea is to make or draw 20,000 elephants to raise funds.

The Milwaukee County Zoo will host activities drawing attention to the need to save these gentle giants and to support a federal ban on ivory.

More than 150 zoos, aquariums and organizations are united by 96 Elephants and led by the Wildlife Conservation Society in a campaign to save elephants through increased protection and ending the illegal ivory trade. If adopted, the new regulations will do a great deal to close these loopholes and reinforce ivory bans enacted by individual states like New York and New Jersey.

Much of the ivory ends up in China.

The zoo’s herd includes eight African elephants: Sophi, Tombi, Kubwa, Ivory, Zahara, Kedar, Kalina and Nyah. The text of the proposed rule is now published in the Federal Register and will be followed by a 60-day comment period that will conclude on September 28.

The 4(d) rule change would prohibit most sales of ivory in interstate or foreign commerce (with exemptions for bona fide antiques and certain manufactured items containing de minimis quantities of ivory) and leave in place other import/export and sales restrictions that the US Fish & Wildlife Service implemented previous year. Persons seeking to qualify for any exceptions from the ban must demonstrate they meet the criteria to qualify for the exceptions.

Besides targeting the ivory buyers, people can raise awareness about elephants through social media. Supporters can also create a 6-second video of creative foot-stamping to symbolize “joining the STAMPede”.

But these acts have not been enough to stop the poaching.

The damage being done to the elephant population in Africa is overwhelming. This coalition is sending a clear message to decision makers that only elephants should own ivory.

I interviewed a number of ex-soldiers with the Lord’s Resistance Army, and they described hand-carrying ivory tusks on their shoulders 600 miles through incredibly dense jungle from Garamba National Park into the Central African Republic into South Sudan into Sudan, the Darfur region of Sudan, into a little area called the Kafia Kingi enclave, and there, they told me, is where Joseph Kony is today.