Its never been a more dangerous time to be an elephant. Imagine the largest of all land beasts, a  favorite wildlife animal going extinct.  An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day. The number of elephant population has dropped an astonishing 62% over the last decade. Elephants are expected to go fully extinct, worldwide, by the end of the next decade. Now, if you’re wondering who’s killing these majestic poor animals, the answer is poachers, who are killing them for meat and ivory. Samuel Wasser said “Without elephants there will be major habitat changes, with negative effects on the many species that depend on the lost habitat.”

This “elephant holocaust” is escalating.  World-wide there are more African elephants being killed than being born. The elephant that is most commonly killed is the Bull Elephant, due to the size of their tusks. The Asian elephant, whose habitat ranges over 13 countries across Asia, has a population of less than 40,000 remaining world wide.

“I have spent hours and hours watching elephants and come to understand what emotional creatures they are…not just a species facing extinction, it’s massive individual suffering,” stated Dr. Jane Goodall. Many care about the wild life and want the best for these beautiful animals. Study shows that humans and elephants share a long history throughout the generations. Even if we think we know about these animals, there’s a lot we don’t actually know. For example, out of all land animals they are the largest, they are the smartest, and surprisingly they are very social.

Since we are talking about these unfortunate events, there are many things we can do to help. We can save the elephants by implementing protection polices for wild elephants and creating stronger enforcement against the poaching and illegal trade of ivory. Elephants are running out of space and time, so we have to make the change before they are all gone.