Thats terrible, I had no idea.  Its awful that we are moving backwards on several conservation issues, sharks come to mind.  The thought that shark-fin soup has led to the wanton mutilation and death of so many animals makes me terribly sad.

Elephant conservation methods were very successful over large areas of Africa—until 2008 when China jump-started the global ivory trade by convincing the organization that monitors international wildlife trade (CITES) to grant a one-time legal sale of ivory from those countries that had conserved elephants well.  But that legal sale provided cover for many unsavory characters to start poaching elephants again and trading illegally gained ivory, mostly to China and SE Asia.  Since 2008, elephants have been slaughtered steadily across most of Africa, and 2012 was the worst year yet.  

At this point, South Africa is exceedingly atypical in having elephants that are at capacity in their limited habitats, and relatively well protected in parks—thus the contraceptives that catch peoples' attention.  But even there, experts are worried that poaching will arrive:

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-12-05-experts-alarmed-by-dramatic-increase-in-elephant-killings

Across all of West and Central Africa, elephants could disappear entirely if current poaching rates continue.  And East Africa has seen a huge upswing in elephant killing as well.  It is like the dark days of the 1980s when elephants were slaughtered in droves—only with vastly greater ivory demand now from China.  I would love to proclaim an Elephant Revival, but sadly we have a long, long ways to go to reach that.  

I am not an expert in the matter, but I was under the impression that elephant conservation methods have been very successful over large areas of Africa.  Successful to the point where humane methods of population control, including birth control vaccines, are being considered in South Africa (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/elephant-birth-control_n_1778127.html). Now, I am not saying that poaching is not a serious problem, and I believe that conserving our natural resources is an obligation that we must take much more seriously globally, but I think that obviously there is somebody doing something right with the elephants.  Like I said, im not an expert on elephant conservation or anything like that, but it seems to me that if some areas of Africa are instituting elephant birth control that it is probably unreasonable to think that our kids will grow in a world without wild elephants.  Maybe we could even call it an Elephant Revival!

I never thought I would say this, but Stingray has a point.  

Elephants are being hunted down and slaughtered all across Africa and Asia for their ivory, most of which is shipped by criminal gangs to East and Southeast Asia, especially China, to be carved into mere trinkets.

There is no revival underway.  The tragic destruction of elephant populations is one of the saddest indictments of humankind's greed and lack of vision.  If current trends continue, it is possible that my kids will grow up in a world without wild elephants.  

Please help by supporting global sanctions against China, the Philippines, and other illegal ivory consumers until they get serious about following and enforcing international wildlife laws. 

   

I never thought I would say this, but Stingray has a point.  

Elephants are being hunted down and slaughtered all across Africa and Asia for their ivory, most of which is shipped by criminal gangs to East and Southeast Asia, especially China, to be carved into mere trinkets.

There is no revival underway.  The tragic destruction of elephant populations is one of the saddest indictments of humankind's greed and lack of vision.  If current trends continue, it is possible that my kids will grow up in a world without wild elephants.  

Please help by supporting global sanctions against China, the Philippines, and other illegal ivory consumers until they get serious about following and enforcing international wildlife laws. 

   

These lyrics came from a Dr. Seuss book.  Gimme a break.

Do we get a discount for shooting an ugly one ?

Reviving elephants is never easy. Giving mouth to trunk is challenging.

Reviving elephants is never easy. Giving mouth to trunk is challenging.