Elephants are beautiful creatures. The average elephant can grow up to four to six tons in weight and 18 to 24 feet in length. Elephants are the biggest mammals on land, and they are family-oriented. We see them in zoos and circuses across the country, but what about them makes them so special? You may have heard about these wondrous animals recently in the news. On August 12, the world celebrated Elephants Day. Unfortunately, most people didn’t even know it was happening. Why have a day celebrating an animal? Well, elephants were put on the international endangered species list in 1989. So to help build awareness for these amazing animals, World Elephant Day began.
Regrettably, there are people in this world known as poachers that kill elephants for their ivory tusks and throw out the rest of the animal. Ivory is a strong, durable material used for not only jewelry but also tools. The ivory does not splinter as wood sometimes does. With poachers collecting more and more ivory everyday, the price of ivory has gone down, allowing middle class citizens to purchase tools at a reasonable price. However, elephants are losing their lives because of this black market, just so humans can have cheaper tools. If this keeps happening, there won’t be any elephants left!
Now, you may be wondering why this is so important. Why should humans care about animals that live on another continent? News Flash: everything has a purpose in this world. It’s the circle of life. Elephants are a big part of the ecosystem in the tropical forest. (And yes, the planet does need the tropical forest.) If the elephants were being wiped out by a meteor or an ice age like the dinosaurs, then we would not be having this discussion. However, Mother Nature still needs elephants in this world, so killing them off is not an option.
Look, all I am saying is that we need to wake up and do something about this. Sure, it might just be elephants now, but they are not the only animals on the endangered species list. According to Endangered Earth, over 16,000 species are in danger of becoming extinct. That is way too many animals being threatened of their existence for us to just sit idly by. You might think that these types of things do not affect you, and you have too many other problems in your life to be worried about some elephant that lives on the other side of the world. Well, here is the thing: elephants cannot speak up and defend themselves when they are being wronged. So, as humans, we need to learn that it is not always about us, and we need to stand up for what is right.
