95% of the money we receive goes directly to effective projects to save elephants … How You Can Help Save Elephants From Extinction. “You don’t just put a male and female together,” says Kirtland. All rights reserved. 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, Harsh Ice Age winters may have helped turn wolves into dogs, Newfound technique allows some tree snakes to climb wide trees, Five questions about COVID-19 vaccine trials in teens, answered, Unmasking the pandemic’s pollution problem, Analyze This: 2020 ties with 2016 for hottest year on record, Space station sensors saw how weird ‘blue jet’ lightning forms, Our feverish universe is getting hotter every day, Rogue planets wander the galaxy all alone, A new catalyst turns greenhouse gas into jet fuel, Bye-bye batteries? The last surviving elephants may soon disappear if the government doesn't take steps to stop forest conversion and effectively protect the elephants. "Forest concession … When I left the museum, I was more convinced than ever that the best place for me at a circus is in the audience. This kind of personal connection can make all the difference, says Kirtland, who saw his first elephant in a circus when he was 5 or 6 years old. Males rarely live longer than 30 years. Yet each year, more than 200 million people go to circuses and zoos, Kirtland estimates. Ancient religions in India, South China, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere have featured gods that had elephant heads. Unless things change, the population will be halved in less than a decade. Our strategies to get there include: Protect elephants and their habitat. That might win the animals additional human friends in Asia. Elephants Conservation. © Society for Science & the Public 2000–2021. Kirtland disagrees with such criticisms. Asian elephants, young and old, at the Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. Elephant extinction is a big topic. NGO Save the Asian Elephants describes how tourists can help their work: Populations of Asian elephants have fallen from an estimated one million in the late 19th … Recently, there have been some promising steps towards ending the … Sumatran elephants in the Leuser Ecosystem and associated nearby forest areas in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, are sadly severely threatened by the conversion of forests into farmland and palm oil plantations. World Elephant Day is recognized on August 12, an appeal to all global citizens to help conserve and protect elephants from the numerous threats they face. And they seem to form friendships with their trainers. The species that lives in Africa is threatened, and Asian elephants are in big trouble. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by e-mail. At any given time, about half of them are on tour with the circus. Support organizations that are working to stop the illegal poaching and trade of elephant ivory and other wildlife products. As farmland spreads and infrastructure developments fragment habitat, elephants are being forced into increasing conflict with people. Support an unequivocal and permanent ivory ban.. A few African governments with pockets of healthy herds have large... 2. Free educator resources are available for this article. Choose a tour operator that actively supports elephant conservation… Register to access: Already Registered? Donate with confidence – we are a registered charity and you can view our annual reports here. Elephant cultures are complex, and the animals are surprisingly smart. The publication, as well as. The publication, as well as Science News magazine, are published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® circus, in particular, has been working extra hard in recent years to help keep Asian elephants from dying out. “Our elephants are part of our family as much as our human partners are,” Kirtland says. Save the Elephants. Once people have seen exotic animals, researchers hope, they will be more likely to want to help protect them. Also, with so few males left, it’s hard for elephants to mate efficiently. After working with animals for years, Kirtland believes that a healthy dose of competition is the key for successful courtship. Meanwhile, poachers are killing males at an alarming rate for their tusks, which sell for lots of money on the black market. Large herds of elephants once roamed freely throughout Asia’s forests and grasslands. The Great Elephant Census reveals that in just seven years, 30% of the species has been wiped out. It’s estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 elephants are illegally hunted each year for their ivory, a commodity now so valuable it’s referred to as “white gold.” With one elephant tusk bringing in as much money … – Millie … The destruction of the rainforest means elephants increasingly intrude on villages and farms looking for food. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. We use cookies to offer you a better browsing experience and to analyze site traffic. Reduce human-elephant conflict. One fifth of the world’s people live in Asia, and their activities are squeezing elephants out. A world where people and ecologically functioning populations of wild elephants can co-exist and thrive across the elephants' range. Power a phone with fabric or a beacon with sound, Some electric eels coordinate their attacks to zap prey, Honeybees fend off deadly hornets by decorating hives with poop, Explainer: Insects, arachnids and other arthropods, Camels have been dying after mistaking plastic for food, Africa’s poisonous rats are surprisingly social. At least, the trainers seem to think so. After over 20 years of intensive monitoring the elephants of Samburu are one of the world’s best-studied populations. Through our Elephant Crisis Fund we have supported more than 83 partners in the implementation of over 300 different projects in 40 different countries (July 2020) aimed at stopping the killing, stopping the trafficking, and ending the demand for ivory. For one thing, circus elephants live longer than zoo elephants or elephants in the wild, he says. CEC veterinarians also draw blood regularly to see which elephants are pregnant or ready to mate. The circus has the potential to benefit future generations of elephants, too, Kirtland says. Ringling Bros. itself has 55 Asian elephants in its herd. It’s perhaps this sense of majesty that drives Kirkland and many of his colleagues to work so hard at saving them. Here are ways to help: Donate to Africa Hope Fund. Founded in 2003, Science News for Students is a free, award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news to learners, parents and educators. At its Center for Elephant Conservation in central Florida, scientists and trainers focus entirely on protecting, breeding, and studying Asian elephants. Conduct research on elephants to help inform … The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® circus, in particular, has been working extra hard in recent years to help keep Asian elephants from dying out. Elephants are intelligent creatures with complex levels of consciousness with a profound role in human cultures as well as African ecosystems. “Regardless of what happens in Asia, it’s our goal to ensure that the Asian elephant doesn’t disappear from the earth,” says animal behaviorist John Kirtland, executive director of animal stewardship at Feld Entertainment, the company that produces the Ringling Bros. circus. In almost every city the company visits, Ringling Bros. holds an animal open house where ticket-holders can visit the animal compound, talk to the staff, and learn about the animals. The elephant poaching crisis is now too large for any … “The Asian elephant is going to go extinct as a wild animal,” he says, “because the wild does not exist anymore.”. Ringling Bros. alone visits within 90 miles of more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. Even so, it is difficult to tell how effective they have been. They argue that it’s not fair to keep exotic animals locked up in artificial environments. A gang in South India has killed more than 40 elephants … Since the early 1990s, Ringling Bros. has bred 16 of the 42 Asian elephants born in North America, equal to the number produced by all the zoos combined. After spending about 22 months inside their mothers’ wombs, baby Asian elephants are born weighing an average of 250 pounds. Africa’s human population is set to double by 2050, creating enormous pressures for elephants. Asian Elephant Support: Check out their projects throughout southern and southeast Asia to help conserve the species and learn how you can help their cause, from donations to animal care. Preserving such an enormous creature can be an enormous challenge. Despite all the research and conservation efforts at the Center, there are still plenty of animal lovers who hate zoos and circuses. We involve local people in research and education to develop a conservation ethic based on local knowledge and elephant needs, and recognize that the best ambassadors for elephants are the people with whom they share their land. Get important updates on elephant conservation, hear about STE events in your area, and be a part of our community helping to conserve the largest land mammal on earth. The Asian elephant, once prevalent throughout India is now listed as an endangered species & included on the IUCN Red List! Through our Elephant Crisis Fund we have supported more than 83 partners in the implementation of … To get there, we employ five major strategies: Prevent illegal killing. Simultaneously, many people are telling us they feel frustrated, because they want to help but do … Adults can grow to be 10 feet tall. Males have huge, beautiful ivory tusks. In captivity, they can live well into their 60s and 70s. One project is trying to skirt the courtship issue altogether by looking at the possibility of artificial insemination. There are two species of elephants living on Earth today. In fact, circus elephants train for hours every day to learn their routines. Monitor elephant numbers, poaching rates, and threats to elephant … Ban all ivory sales, now. The nonprofits we help in Zambia are effective, good stewards of our resources. “We want to preserve it for our children and our children’s children.”, Weekly updates to help you use Science News for Students in the learning environment. Humans kill the elephants to keep them off valuable farming land. Elephants have a long history of relationships with humans. magazine, are published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education. That may sound like a big number, but the future looks bleak. Altogether, fewer than 100 elephants have been born and bred in the United States in the 200 years since Asian elephants were first brought to the country. Asian elephants performing at the circus. Illegal poaching of elephants … Enter your e-mail address above. Improve elephant protection and management - by providing equipment and training to anti-poaching teams; promoting the creation of new protected areas and improving the … Asian elephants enjoying a cooling shower. Losing the Borneo Pygmy Elephant to extinction would be a terrible thing because the species has an incredibly unique set of genetics as well as tons of more research to be done about it. We also assist in implementing a UN-level programme to monitor the illegal killing of elephants. We share our awareness of their importance both locally and internationally through films, publications, a computerised elephant library, a news service, social networks and our website. Fully-grown males can weigh as much as 12,000 pounds. Protect elephant habitat. Post was not sent - check your e-mail addresses! … One of the biggest challenges of maintaining a thriving elephant community is getting the animals to mate in captivity. I attempted to walk across a tightrope hanging low to the ground, but I wobbled and fell off after nearly every step. Due to the continually drop in numbers, all elephants in the world are protected and conservation efforts are in place. If I were an Asian elephant, however, I might consider joining the circus. With World Elephant Day on Aug. 12, take a look at some things you can do to save elephants from poaching and loss of habitat. With practice, scientists have learned some important tricks. Yet, for endangered Asian elephants, a circus might be a safer place to live than any wild area in Asia. In the wild, a female elephant is lucky to reach 50. is a free, award-winning online publication dedicated to providing age-appropriate science news to learners, parents and educators. What is being done We develop and deploy cutting edge tracking systems to monitor and protect elephants. Build capacity in range States. Today, there are probably fewer than 35,000 elephants living in the wild in Asia, Kirtland says. Other serious threats to their homes include timber concessions, illegal logging and burning, mining, quarrying, and expansion of roads and settlements. At its Center for Elephant Conservation … Dear EarthTalk: What is being done to save elephants around the world?I understand that these magnificent creatures are teetering on the brink of extinction. They want to find odors that are particularly repulsive to elephants so that they can design “odor fences” that would keep wild elephants from destroying farmers’ crops. I stuffed my body into a contortionist’s box and almost got stuck. Foster an elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The rest hang out at the Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC), where they train, participate in studies, or relax, depending on their stage in life. I couldn’t even lift the big, heavy stick that acrobats use for balance. Click Here to Make a Donation to Save the Elephants. Most people will never get to Africa or Asia on extended safaris. In fact, Asian elephants are so threatened now that Kirtland estimates they could disappear in fewer than 20 years. “A world without elephants would be a much sadder place.”. Today, there are fewer than 40,000 in the wild due to habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, and poaching. With China’s economy only showing signs of growing, one can speculate that this practice will continue exponentially in the future unless something is done. There’s plenty to admire. Elephants have also taken on important roles in mythology and religion. STE provides information on elephant movements for landscape planners to protect rangeland and creates innovative solutions to prevent elephants from raiding crops, such as our Elephants & Bees project. They can learn to respond to more than 60 vocal commands. All of these actions have devastating impact… Among elephants and rhinos, sharks have been experiencing a decline with the rise of shark fin soup, which is said to help produce vitality and good fortune. With elephants, first impressions can be quite impressive. “Put several guys in a room full of women, they have to compete for the women’s attention.”. “We’ve all missed holidays, family gatherings, and birthdays because the needs of our animals come first.”, Elephant-like animals have lived on earth for more than 55 million years, far longer than we have. For one thing, elephant populations have been split up into small, vulnerable groups. Support organizations that are protecting wild elephant habitat. By … We work with wildlife departments, protected area managers, and communities to assist their efforts to defend elephants against ivory poachers and traffickers. Get the Latest Updates on Elephant Conservation on our Blog. Adult females weigh between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds. By keeping animals in captivity, scientists have had a chance to learn basic things about elephants that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. “They are magnificent animals,” Kirtland says. Save the Elephants partnered with WCN to launch the Elephant Crisis Fund (ECF) in partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Ringling Bros. finished building the facility in 1995 on a 200-acre site between Tampa and Orlando. We develop and deploy cutting edge tracking systems to monitor and protect elephants. Though primarily based in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, we have projects across Africa focussing on radio-tracking elephants and community conservation carrying out rigorous … … African Parks is creating safe havens for elephants, by stopping poaching and reducing human-elephant conflict, while also ensuring that local communities benefit from … As part of another, more conservation-minded project, researchers at the Center are studying how elephants perceive smells. Out of the 40,000-50,000 Asian elephants in the wild, India is home to around 25,000 to 27,000 wild elephants. We conduct vital research on elephant behaviour and ecology and pioneered GPS radio tracking in Africa to provide fresh insight into the life of elephants. Some local governments have even banned animal acts in their towns, fearing that the animals aren’t treated well. Still, Kirtland and his colleagues at Ringling Bros. want to make sure that the animals don’t disappear altogether, even if they remain only in captivity. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is … Poaching of elephants for ivory, meat, hide and other parts continues to rise! Researchers are trying lab techniques to fertilize female elephants without mating them. “For many people, the first or only time they ever see an elephant is when the circus comes to town,” he says. Our solid scientific data has helped shift international policy towards a better future for the species. How to Save Africa’s Elephants 1. At a recent exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, I had a chance to try. Asian elephants … That’s not because the bulky animals have it any easier than the rest of the troupe. For thousands of years, people have been using the animals to help with agriculture, logging, and military activities. Trained elephants will stand still during uncomfortable medical procedures, for example, allowing researchers to collect general information about their bodies and health. The elephant poaching epidemic sweeping across Africa is causing an outpouring of grief and outrage around the world. “If you put one guy in a room full of women, he’s casual,” he says. As the supply of elephant ivory dwindles, Chinese ivory factories and retail stores are purchasing more tusks of the extinct variety, according to a 2014 report commissioned by the nonprofit group Save the Elephants … And they seem to form friendships with their trainers once roamed freely throughout ’! Circuses and zoos, Kirtland estimates they could disappear in fewer than 35,000 elephants living in wild! Zoo elephants or elephants in the wild in Asia DiCaprio Foundation to assist their efforts to defend elephants against poachers. Home to around 25,000 to 27,000 wild elephants Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is … how Save. 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