In Africa roams what is left of our megafauna, meaning animals as big as the giants that once roamed the Earth before humans. Among these are elephants and rhinoceros. Most of you probably know that these beautiful animals are poached for their tusks and horns, respectively. It is becoming more clear that there may be none left in the wild for future generations to admire. Yes, we have populations in zoos, and I understand that some people think that's enough. It's not. The amount of influence these animals have on their environment is astounding. For example, elephants will trample parts of mature forest to make may for new growth that is part of the forest's life cycle. We simply cannot afford to lose these majestic giants, but so valuable are their horns and tusks that poachers will seemingly stop at nothing to destroy them. I won't talk any more about it, but instead, I offer some of the photographic evidence of this horror. I believe a picture speaks a thousand words, and I hope the following images disturb you as much as they disturb me:
Poaching has also left hundreds of babies orphaned. And keep in mind that these animals are fairly intelligent- elephants have even been shown to mourn their dead- they realize what has happened. I apologize if I've caused any of you to start crying, but that is the effect I want. This is not made up. I didn't photo-shop these pictures. This is real, and this is going on right now.
This is a video on the elephant with the world's largest tusks. He was found dead less than a month ago, rotting in the mud, missing his face. For the full article, click this link: http://www.care2.com/causes/poachers-just-killed-the-biggest-most-loved-wild-elephant-in-the-world.html
Like I said, I hope you were disturbed. The inhumanity of poaching makes me sick, and it needs to stop. These animals need our help, or we will lose them forever.
The organization "Tusk" has some great information, and they have a lot of projects underway to help these animals. (Plus, David Beckham and the Duke of Cambridge are involved!) Check out their website here: http://www.tuskusa.com/
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