Tees for Animal Lover
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Wild African elephants are teetering dangerously on the brink of extinction. They are becoming the unwilling victims of an unfortunate human political and economic game that has led to an increase in the demand for black market ivory. The going rate for ivory is currently about $3,000 per kilo and each adult elephant tusk weighs roughly five kilos. This puts a $30,000 price tag on the head of every elephant in Africa! With political corruption running rampant and many Africans living in abject poverty, these inflated prices have the mass slaughter of Africa’s elephants.
Each year there are approximately 35,000 elephants hunted down and brutally slaughtered for their ivory. This translates to roughly one hundred elephants killed each day. That means that in the time that it takes most people to shower each morning, an elephant has lost their life.
This bloody slaughter also wreaks havoc on the remaining live elephants and those who are not killed but are often maimed or injured as they flee from their attackers. This was the case in this video, which was filmed on the Maasai Mara Wildlife Reserve in Kenya.
The rangers, who often risk their lives fighting illegal poaching, tracked an injured elephant into the bush. Luckily, the skilled vets are able to treat the animal and before long it is as good as new, happily returning to its herd. This elephant’s story was a happy ending, thanks to the help of a few kind humans, proving once again that it is possible for all of us to get along.