World Elephant Day; Guardians of the Wildlands
Known to be the largest land mammals around the world, males on average measuring up to 3m high and weighing up to 6 tonnes, females up to 5 tonnes these are broadly identified as the African and Asian Elephants, with the African species being larger. Males reach their full size at 35-40 years of age, well over half their lifespan, as wild elephants can live for up to 60-70 years. These keystone species thrive mainly within the Savannah woodlands most commonly across the African and Asian continents and are known for their profound role in keeping the ecosystems in check. Elephants feed on up to 150kg of food per day, usually browse from wild species of fruits and trees. An elephant’s skin is about 2.5cm thick around most parts of its body.
In order to keep their skin clean and protect themselves from sunburn the often do take regular dust and mud baths. Unique are the elephant tusks, which actually are enlarged incisor teeth which first appear at about around 2 years of age. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives. These are used to help with feeding - prising bark off trees or digging up roots or as a defense when fighting. Their browsing behavior keeps wildlands in check and in most parts of the tropics has helped in invasive species control; for instance, their feeding behavior and preference for the acacia hocii species most common in the Savannah grasslands and woodlands of Eastern and Southern Africa.
The bond held by elephants that belong to a group may often persist for a lifetime even if a member got disengaged from its original group. These live in a community as is often led. By a ‘mother female’, taking charge of the herd assisted by the younger and youthful bulls.
A report released by the IUCN as at 2016 estimates global populations of elephants at 415,000 individuals in the wild; widely distributed across the African and Asian continents as species with highly distinguishable features, most commonly noticed by the orientation of their ears and general body sizes. Of the two broader categories, the African elephants (loxodonta) are more popular, thriving in large numbers within the tropics; savannah grasslands and woodlands stretching towards Southern Africa for the Savannah species (loxodonta africana). The African species are more prominent and common within Southern African territories of Botswana towards the Namib desert and most parts of East Africa. Forest Species are most common within the forested regions of Central Africa.
The Asian species is predominantly found in India stretching towards the South-eastern parts of the continent. from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised; E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra.
Poaching for the illegal ivory trade is the biggest threat to African elephants’ survival. Before onset of the European colonization of Africa, there had been as many as 26 million elephants. By the early 20th century, their numbers had dropped to 10 million owing to the desire for ivory. Hunting was highly escalating until 1970 when their numbers were down to 1.3 million. Between 1970 and 1990, hunting and poaching put the African elephant at risk of extinction, reducing its population by yet another half.
Yet other pertinent threats have been habitat loss and fragmentation primarily owing to the ever-increasing human populations thus demand for natural resources; often resulting into encroachment of the Wildlands. Pollution has noy been an exemption often affecting their normal life cycles and most significantly feeding and breeding cycles. In most parts of Asia, elephants have been obtained from the Wild and used for entertainment purposes. This significantly poses a threat to their existence in the wild.
Serial efforts and advances have been put forward to ensure conservation and protection of elephants worldwide; through policy spaces, research endeavors, fostering on the ground and community centered conservation action. These however are not yet yielding the desired results in promoting conservation of these keystone species. Whilst the populations of elephants are highly declining at a rate of over 1,000 individuals per year, this rather depicts a rate higher than they are replaced in the wild. The ever-increasing scenarios of wildlife crime; poaching and trade in ivory pose a great risk to their existence is a call to action to enhance synergies of governments, local communities and civil actors towards conservation of this already critically endangered species key to the health of our wild ecosystems. The World elephant day celebrated each year aims to bring awareness about the relevance of elephants, fostering action to ensure their survival and co-existence with humans.
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