Riley Barry

Have you “herd”? Yesterday was world elephant day!

There are 3 species of elephants and they are the African savanna elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. African and Asian elephants have small differences that make a large impact.

African elephants are the largest land mammals and have large ears shaped like the continent of Africa. In addition, the end of their trunk has two “fingers” to help them pick things up. Whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears and only one finger at the end of their trunk. Other differences include the visibility of the tusks and the shape of the back, which vary based on species and gender.

An elephant’s tusks, made out of ivory, are used for defense, digging for resources, and lifting. Elephant populations are decreasing at an alarming rate due to poaching for ivory. As a keystone species, elephants help create rich biodiversity in ecosystems and are important ecosystem engineers.

It is important to protect not only elephants themselves, but also the environments they live in. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working to stop the illegal ivory trade as well as strengthening anti-poaching initiatives. To help protect the environments, the habitats of African elephants are under formal protection.

There are many things YOU can do to help save these gentle giants like donating to conservation organizations, purchasing elephant-friendly coffee and wood, not purchasing ivory, and educating others.

PC- Riley Barry

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