Is it time to say goodbye to the majestic elephant? The species has been hurt by habitat destruction and species fragmentation, but its biggest enemy has undoubtedly been mankind: An elephant is killed every 15 minutes. And now, one expert predicts that within 12 years, elephants will be extinct, the victims largely of poachers who sell their ivory, and the mostly wealthy customers and celebrities who buy it.
On World Elephant Day earlier this month, Kenya’s Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust warned that “in 12 years’ time there may not be any elephants left in Africa to celebrate. A world without elephants is hard to comprehend, but it is a real possibility. Against a submachine gun or poacher armed with a spear, they stand little chance.” Indeed, 36,000 elephants were killed in Kenya last year, and 163 of Kenya’s 35,000 elephants were killed by poachers just this June and July.
In 1989, the ivory trade was banned under the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and elephant killing subsequently decreased. But organized bands have often skirted the ban, and Philip Mansbridge, CEO of Care for the Wild International, writing in The Huffington Post, contends that the situation is getting worse:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.