Elephant Worries

This came to my attention just before the Christmas break which didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up. If you really know me you know my love for elephants.  I cry while watching the elephant swim at African Lion Safari. I’m even in limbo as the potential host of a TV show about elephants. (The show is in limbo, therefore so am I.) Some of my most prized possessions depict elephants. I could go on but I think you get the gist.

The illegal wildlife trade isn’t just ongoing, it’s thriving and growing.   The criminal trade of ivory is big business.  According to the World Wildlife Fund, “Ivory estimated to weigh more than 23 metric tons—a figure that represents 2,500 elephants—was seized in the 13 largest seizures of illegal ivory in 2011.”  An estimated 100 elephants a day are still being slaughtered for their tusks in Africa.  The images are horrifying.

Elephants mourn and they cry.  And even if they didn’t and they were just thoughtless, stupid lunkheads, they still don’t deserve to have their faces cut off  and die slow, agonizing deaths at the hands of greedy poachers.  There are many people who know a lot more about this tragedy than I do, including Sir Elton John, who has written a thoughtful and thought -provoking column for the UK Independent. You can read it HERE.