Elephants- more fragile than you think

Before reading Love, Life, & Elephants by Daphne Sheldrick, elephants (along with turtles) were my favorite animals for no particular reason. I loved them for their emotions and their gentleness, but after reading the book, I respect them. There is a reason Ganesha, the god of overcoming obstacles, has an elephant head. Elephants are ruthlessly hunted for their ivory, which is used for various trinkets. The elephants are either shot or poisoned and the ivory is ripped out of their face. Oftentimes, baby elephants witness their mothers being murdered and are then orphaned. Most die from a lack of milk and food. This is where Daphne Sheldrick comes in- she and the keepers rescue orphaned baby elephants, nurse them back to health at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi (Kenya).

In the next few years, I hope to visit the elephant orphanage Tsavo, and the Masai Mara. And I am taking an oath to spread the word about the ivory trade and the horrific consequences of it.

To join the campaign to ban ivory, go to http://www.iworry.org/

To foster an elephant at the DSWT, go to http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/fostering.asp. It's only $50 and in the next few months, it will be a perfect gift for a friend or family member.

"The death of this great elephant evoked in us a lament for all the wild creatures of Africa and the vanishing wilderness that had protected and sheltered them for so long. It was symbolic of the tenuous future all wildlife faced in a continent where poverty bred corruption and greedy people in faraway lands created the demand that fueled the killing." -From Love, Life, and Elephants (pg 225-226)