What If There Were No Elephants Left?
On World Elephant Day 2015, we ask this question, and offer our solutions to save an incredible species.
By Dune Ives, Senior Director of Vulcan Philanthropy, Vulcan Inc.
Today is World Elephant Day. As I consider what the future holds for my children, I often ask myself what our world, their world, would be like without elephants. This is not an outlandish question. It is a real possibility.
I am fortunate to have walked with elephants — to have stood nearby listening to their rumbling while they communicate with each other. I’ve witnessed the beauty of these magnificent and intelligent creatures that care deeply for their family and mourn their dead.
Every day, including today, 100 elephants are needlessly killed for their tusks and meat. More than 30,000 of these awe-inspiring animals are poached each year by AK-47s, coordinated helicopter attacks and mass cyanide poisoning. The current rate of decimation will mean the extinction of this iconic species in my children’s lifetime.
Elephants may seem to be very far away from our own natural surroundings. Yet, from my Seattle vantage point and my view of the Olympic Mountains, the very ports I look past have become channels for illegal trade in wildlife products, including trinkets made from the ivory of dead elephants’ tusks. The United States is the second largest market for such trade, so the cause of the elephants’ deaths is actually very close to home.
Since 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken more than 50 enforcement actions related to the illegal trafficking in elephant parts, but none resulted in any jail time or criminal fines. Washington is a market for illegal wildlife products because traffickers know that our state has toothless laws. They know that even if they are caught, they will walk away scot-free.
Fortunately, in Seattle and Washington State, elephants have advocates. Here, many individuals and organizations are determined to prevent their extinction, including Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc. Vulcan is attacking the illegal trade by every means possible — from informing conservation efforts and funding important research, to eliminating supply and preventing transit of illegal ivory, meat and other body parts.
At Vulcan we firmly believe that policy change, both at the state and federal level, is critical to close the loopholes that allow traffic in wildlife to continue. In Washington, we helped develop Initiative 1401 and the Save Animals Facing Extinction campaign to support it. When passed, the initiative will prohibit the sale, purchase and distribution of products made from 10 endangered animals: elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles, pangolins, sharks and rays. While it is illegal to bring products from endangered species into the United States, once these products are within our state borders, state fish and wildlife law enforcement has no authority to apprehend sellers or buyers.
We are fighting poachers in Africa with another weapon: knowledge. Our Great Elephant Census is being conducted in partnership with 20 countries, 50 scientists and seven nonprofits and is the largest pan-African aerial survey since the 1970s. In some areas, up to 65 percent of their elephant population have been lost in only a few years. Armed with the latest Great Elephant Census population figures, governments and conservation groups will be able to more effectively and decisively save hundreds to thousands of elephant lives — and their critical ecosystems.
World Elephant Day is devoted to preserving and protecting the world’s elephants. By sharing an article, sending a tweet and, Washington voters, committing to cast a “yes” vote on I-1401 on the November 3rd ballot, you’re declaring that you will not sit quietly by while critical species are pointlessly killed. This destruction may be happening thousands of miles away, but in Seattle we can all work to stop it.
Together, we can reduce demand for ivory and help protect elephants in their wild habitats for future generations. We can help Africa remain a vibrant tourist destination where these gentle giants generate significant income for local families just by roaming their natural habitat. We can reduce organized crime activities that threaten communities. And I can share with my son and daughter the joy of witnessing elephants in the wild. Together, we can continue to celebrate World Elephant Day by paying tribute to thriving herds and not memorializing an extinct species.
Join the campaign to Save Animals Facing Extinction: saveanimalsfacingextinction.org.
Learn more about the Great Elephant Census: greatelephantcensus.com
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook and explore the #WorldElephantDay hashtag to learn about what other organizations are doing to protect elephants.
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