ELEPHANTS
IN DANGER, YOUR CHOICES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
In every part of history, elephants have been a vital key in
human culture, religion and economies. The colossal size, structure, and
strength of the largest living land mammal has fascinated people of different
cultures and norms for hundreds of years. Elephants are a great symbol and
sign of many tribes in the world and very special and rare animals. Uganda is
not only home to the Elephants but to its smaller brother – the Forest
Elephants. Most likely you will not see the differences unless you pay close
attention – they have 5 toes on their front feet and four the back ones. They have a covering of hair and are grey in
color. They have smaller tusks and they are straighter and point downwards so
that they can navigate around the tropical rainforest jungles of West, Central
Africa and in Uganda – They enter through a wildlife corridor from the
Democratic Republic into Ishasha – this corridor leads them as far as Kabale
Forest and in Asia, in countries Like Thailand, China and in other regions on
the continent
Forest Elephant Tusks are of the highest quality and they
favored by Ivory Poachers because the ivory is harder and yet retains its
elastic qualities – unfortunately poaching is rampant in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and on the increase in Uganda and Elephants are killed for
their ivory and that includes Forest Elephants.
These kind of Elephants communicate with one another over
long distances through calls that most often are too low to be heard by
humans. As far as living in harmony with
the forest – these elusive animals of the forest can cause much more
destructive manage than their Savannah cousins – taking down trees, digging up
the ground, destroying the underbrush for their trails.
Forest Elephants can breed any time of the year – the
gestation period is 22 months in length and normally give birth to a single
Forest Elephant calf. As far as predators are concerned – the main ones are
humans, both poachers and those who encroach into the parks destroying the
Forest Elephants habitat.
Forest Elephants –in Uganda can be found Kabale Forest,
Rwenzori Mountain Foothills, Mgahinga Gorilla Park, Semliki Park, Mount Elgon,
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth Park. The Forest Elephants of Uganda – another
reason to visit the Pearl of Africa and other tropical regions of Africa
Diet, Staples: Grasses, leaves, bamboo, bark, roots.
Elephants are also known to eat crops like banana and sugarcane which are grown
by farmers. Adult elephants eat 300-400 lbs of food per day.
Population, at the turn of the 20th century, there were a
few million African elephants and about 100,000 Asian elephants. Today, there
are an estimated 450,000 - 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 -
40,000 wild Asian elephants.
Range, elephants are found in savannah zones in 37 countries
south of the Sahara Desert. Forest elephants inhabit the dense rainforests of
west and central Africa – Uganda. The Asian elephant is found in India, Sri
Lanka, China and much of Southeast Asia.
Behavior, Elephants form deep family bonds and live in tight
matriarchal family groups of related females called a herd. The herd is led by
the oldest and often largest female in the herd, called a matriarch. Herds
consist of 8-100 individuals depending on terrain and family size. When a calf
is born, it is raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd. Males leave
the family unit between the ages of 12-15 and may lead solitary lives or live
temporarily with other males.
Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and have
memories that span many years. It is this memory that serves matriarchs well
during dry seasons when they need to guide their herds, sometimes for tens of
miles, to watering holes that they remember from the past. They also display
signs of grief, joy, anger and play.
Challenges
Illegal wildlife Trade, many elephants are being killed for Ivory.
The reckless trophy hunting of imperiled wildlife in Africa has to stop. Demand
that all international air carriers refuse to ship imperiled big game trophies.
Habitat loss is one of the key threats facing elephants.
climate change projections indicate that key portions of elephants’ habitat
will become significantly hotter and drier, resulting in poorer foraging
conditions and threatening calf survival. Increasing conflict with human
populations taking over more and more elephant habitat and poaching for ivory
are additional threats that are placing the elephant’s future at risk.
Poaching, African elephant lies dying – yet another victim
of a poacher's rifle. Her ivory tusks will be hacked off her still-warm body to
fuel an illegal international ivory trade worth millions of dollars. Between
2010 and 2012, poachers slaughtered an estimated 100,000 elephants for their
ivory. That's roughly one elephant butchered every 15 minutes.
SOLUTIONS
The reckless trophy hunting of imperiled wildlife in Africa
has to stop. Demand that all international air carriers refuse to ship
imperiled big game trophies, effective immediately!
ESTABLISH private permaculture elephant food forest double
standard Eco systems, Elephant friendly Jungles for food, breeding and safety
in all regions, through planting a million of trees, conservation of
biodiversity, preserve water bodies, in addition innovating ivory substitutes.
Fight and report to protect elephants and other threatened
and endangered wildlife, Adopt an Elephant, A symbolic adoption helps save real
animals in the wild, Take Action on law and elephant protection policy, Visit
our Wildlife Action Center to send a message to government leaders, Speak Up
for Wildlife, Learn how you can be a powerful advocate for wildlife.
Keep the pressure on the Government to follow through on
plans to end the domestic trade in ivory;
Mobilize against “Save Elephants Campaigns” efforts to
weaken ivory import, export and sale restrictions in Uganda and in other
regions, Conservation leadership at international wildlife fora such as the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
“There’s no time to lose. let us
Stand today so that our children can experience the wonder of elephants in
their world.” – Mugarura Charles -
