The wholesale loss of African Elephants in the wild is a tragedy that few will understand. I say this with no joy and I know the statement has more than a twinge of snobbery – I apologize, it is unintended. But the truth is, elephants are hard to fully appreciate until you see them in the wild or working with people (as in much of Asia).
.
The reasons for saving them are esoteric, but actual. They are amazing creatures that must be seen to be believed. However, they also play a complex role in ecosystems that is not easily replaced. Parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi that were denuded of elephants have not recovered since. Savana and scrub land that supported a wide variety of animal life (and tourist dollars) has become barren or supports a fraction of the previous wildlife. The vast tracks that have become home to crocodiles and little else bring in no tourist dollars. Rhinos could play them same ecological role, but they are all but extinct.
.
There is only one reason for killing elephants , and it has returned with a vengeance. A poacher can get $30,000 for elephant tusks. That is a pretty vast wealth for people on the fringe of society. And there is a massive demand from newly wealthy Chinese, a population that historical values ivory and is moving, in great numbers, into the position to afford ivory.
.
Humans previously stopped poaching by reducing the demand for ivory in the late 70’s and 1980s. As Japan and southeast Asian countries became rich, demand for ivory went up. It took a concerted effort to make ivory ownership distasteful. Money for campaigns, famous celebrities advocating for Elephants, governments (Japan and Korea) cracking down very hard on smuggling and a desire of the people of Japan and South Korea to emulate western values – all of these created the environment where elephant flourished and ivory trade reduced to a trickle.
.
But the Chinese have a much lower desire to emulate Western Values, and Chinese officials have been notoriously bad at stopping smuggling. Just as the US cannot stop drug smuggling if the population demands drugs, China cannot stop ivory smuggling unless the population stops valuing ivory. Some key Chinese figures, for example, Yao Ming, are trying to make a difference. I hope they succeed in time to stop the trade.
.
But until the Chinese change their habits, elephant extinction looms. West African jungle elephants are already probably past saving in the wild. Elephants in Kenya, Tanzania are on the decline in great numbers. Park ranchers are being killed, and safeguards are being overrun. In South Africa, there are still great numbers of elephants, but as the elephant numbers reduce in the rest of Africa, the price of ivory will rise until the risk are worth poaching there. Already armed poachers are encroaching onto the major preserves.
.
It is a tribute to the elephants and the park ranchers that still protect them knowing they do so at the threat of their own lives. Park Ranchers make much less than poachers, and do the job out of love for the animals and the countryside.
.
Making eventual recovery even harder is an unfortunate problem that is less well understood. Elephants live in complex social groups and trauma inhibits the return of population, even after poaching is effectively ended. The devastation in Mozambique occurred not from poaching, but from a civil war that exploded and killed vast herds of elephants. Those that survived were too emotionally scarred and unable to repopulate the region. They were killed in herds by the thousands, and so the survivors avoided herds at all costs. Mating occurred occasionally, but without the family units to safeguard them, the newborn fell victim to predators.
.
Elephants, as a species, will probably survive. Of the Asian Elephants, smaller and more domesticated, only the males have ivory, so wholesale slaughter doesn’t usually occur. But the world will be a less interesting place without Elephants (and Rhinos). I know it is a small concern in the world of (liberally-speaking) climate change and (conservatively-speaking) illegal immigration growth. But it is heartbreaking.
.
PS – the NRA has blocked legislation to prohibit ivory trade in the United States ONLY because some old guns have ivory handles. Please, if you are an NRA member, voice your support for an ivory trade ban. These majestic creatures really are worth the cost of stopping trade in old ivory handled revolvers.