Orphan bonding with his "parent" figure. Many baby elephants are cared for by truly dedicated people. Regrettably, in the vast majority of cases these people are paid a pittance.
AN UNCONSCIONABLE NUMBER OF BABY ELEPHANTS become orphaned due to poaching throughout Africa and other regions, the majority of the killers motivated by monetary gain (the market for ivory is still strong in Asia, as rhino horn is in parts of Arabia, especially Yemen).
Poaching will remain unstoppable until poverty is drastically reduced, education about conservation is strengthened, other forms of income are devised for people in immediate contact with these magnificent animals, and governments take a stronger, systematic hand in protecting animals, an unlikely event considering the almost total absence of honest, intelligent, forceful and compassionate leadership (moral in the non-religious sense, as in simply “doing the right thing”), around the world, including the US, of course.
A lesser but still significant number of elephants is killed by farmers in retaliation for crop destruction, a classical case of species clashing due to reduced habitat, with humans, naturally, emerging victorious. This ABC News segment focuses on the handful of our species doing something worth celebrating, trying to desperately turn the tide, so to speak.
There are many excellent resources on the web dedicated to animal defense and rescue. The All Creatures site is a good place to begin. This page, for example, focuses on elephant exploitation, which certainly goes well beyond their being murdered for ivory. For all sorts of information in depth about animal issues, from a completely independent and authoritative source, consult ANIMAL PEOPLE MAGAZINE.
—P. Greanville
