SAVING THE ELEPHANTThe Poaching Crisis

THE HUNTERby Paul Geraghty

How do you think the baby elephant and Jamina are

feeling?

Why did Jamina decide to never be a hunter?

The Poaching Crisis

• Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants and animals (or their parts).

• Approximately 38,000 elephants are poached every year for their ivory.

• African elephants could be extinct in 15-20 years.

• Scientists estimate that one elephant is killed every 15 minutes for their ivory.

ELEPHANT INFO FACTS

• Two types of elephant: African and Asian.

• Largest land living ‐mammal in the world.

• Female and male African elephants have tusks but only male Asian elephants have tusks.

ELEPHANT INFO FACTS

• Elephants have no natural predators.

• An elephant’s trunk can grow to 4 metres long and can weigh up to 140 kg.

• Female elephants spend their entire lives in large groups called herds.

ELEPHANT INFO FACTS

• Elephants can swim –they use their trunk to breathe like a snorkel in deep water.

• Female elephants are called cows. They start to have calves when they are 1 year old.

• An elephant can use its tusks to dig for ground water.

HOW TO HELP ELEPHANTS

• Study them in their keystone role in the wild.

• Support organizations that protect wild elephant habitat & solve human elephant conflicts.‐

HOW TO HELP ELEPHANTS

• DO NOT support organizations that exploit or abuse elephants and other animals for entertainment and profit.

• Experience elephants in their natural environment by choosing eco tourism operators ‐who support local elephant conservation projects.

HOW TO HELP ELEPHANTS

• Be an elephant aware consumer.‐

• DO NOT BUY IVORY or other wildlife products.• Do not buy coffee that

is not fair traded or ‐shade grown.‐

• Do not buy products with palm oil.

DRAW YOUR OWN ELEPHANT POSTER!