Q&A for Earth Day: Earth Week

We received some emails with various questions about elephants. Maybe you have some too. We are going to begin to answer these questions every Thursday. Send us a note with yours and you can be featured here too!

QUESTION: A reader on our Facebook Page asked what do we mean, “creating a harmonious future for elephants and humans.”

ANSWER: We love elephants! But the largest living mammals on planet earth are in trouble. Human-elephant conflict over space and the greed for ivory is destroying the elephant populations in the wild (in Africa, extinction is possible as early as 2020!) And in captivity, elephants are abused and tortured for human entertainment in circuses and in some poorly run zoos. Elephantopia’s mission is to create a future where elephants AND humans co-exist in harmony together. We understand how important it is to save the elephants - they are a keystone species to the environment and have much to teach us. There are a number of great organizations dedicating time, research and money into creating: safer habitats for elephants, raising up rangers and elephant advocates from among local people in Africa,  strengthening local and national governments to protect elephants, creating harsher penalties for ivory poachers, petitioning circuses and zoos, and creating sanctuaries for abused elephants. Our aim is to share this relevant information in one localized place in hopes that the education people receive from our posts will transform into action. We do this by sharing facts about elephants every MWF. We also share quotes from prominent conservationists, photographs of elephants so people who don’t usually see them become more aware of these majestic animals, and every saturday we share a Happy Weekend video clip. Finally, we share the latest news of elephants and write our own responses to what’s happening globally and locally, with opportunities for personal involvement. We are hopeful that there is a future for elephants to live in peace and harmony with humans. It’s just a matter of creative conservation innovations, which is what this project is all about discovering.