Elephants, particularly in Africa, have long been the target of poachers, who look for a quick profit on ivory from their tusks at the expense of a global treasure, says paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey
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Save the elephants —
A single tusk from an elephant can bring $30,000, says Leakey. Between 2010 and 2012, some 40,000 elephants were illegally killed each year, according to research published this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Save the elephants —
A Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) ranger stands guard over an ivory haul seized as it transited through Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. In 1989, Leakey, then head of the Kenya Wildlife Services, arranged for a very public burning of 12 tons of ivory in Kenya to discourage trafficking and reduce demand.
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Save the elephants —
A study earlier this year showed that more African elephants are being killed each year than being born. Nations, states, cities should ban the ivory trade, says Leakey, and individuals should stop buying items of any kind that have ivory in them.
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Save the elephants —
The fight to save the elephants "shows that we cherish the world and appreciate its complexities," says Leakey. "It's essential to preserving the biodiversity of our world and to continuing our ongoing understanding of its evolution -- how we became what we are today."
