Thursday September 6, 2012, 3:28 pm
From the Article:


What can we do?

If you’re a mercenary, you can strap on your Rambo gear and go to Africa to fight warlords and poachers. If you’re in China and purchase ivory objects, you can decide to stop. But what about the rest of us? None of us can single-handedly stop the ivory trade, but we are not helpless — as much as it may feel like it. Here are six actions we can take to support these grand creatures.

1. Obviously, don’t buy ivory
Or sell it, or wear it. New ivory is strictly banned, but antique ivory can be legally available for purchase. (The regulations are complicated; this is a good overview.) Ivory has traditionally been used for jewelry, billiard balls, pool cues, dominos, fans, piano keys and carved trinkets. Shunning antique ivory is a clear message to dealers that the material is not welcomed, and it's an easy way to show your solidarity with the elephants.

2. Buy elephant-friendly coffee and wood
Coffee and timber crops are often grown in plantations that destroy elephant habitats. Make sure to buy Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber and certified fair trade coffee.

3. Support conservation efforts
If only we could all be Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey, and move to the jungle or plains and thoroughly dedicate our lives to wildlife. Alas, for most of us that’s the stuff of daydreams. In the meantime, we can support the organizations that are actively committed to elephant preservation. There are many, but here are a few:

International Elephant Foundation
Elephant Care International
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
African Wildlife Foundation
Amboseli Elephant Research Project

4. Be aware of the plight of captive elephants
Historically, zoos and circuses have offered elephants a life of, basically, indentured servitude. Fortunately, the zoo industry is starting to wake up and is beginning to develop more elephant-friendly environments, yet they have a long way to go. Circuses, even further. Make a difference by boycotting circuses that use animals, and by boycotting zoos that offer insufficient space to allow elephants to live in social groups, and where the management style doesn’t allow them to be in control of their own lives. See ElephantVoices for more information.

You can also support the Elephant Trails campaign of the National Zoo to improve the welfare of both wild and captive elephants.

5. Adopt an elephant
Who wouldn’t want to take home a cute elephant, protect it from the bad guys, and raise it as their own? OK, so that’s not quite realistic, but there are any number of organizations that offer elephant adoptions so that you get cute pictures of “your” elephant, and they get currency to fund their elephant conservation efforts. World Wildlife Foundation, World Animal Foundation, Born Free, Defenders of Wildlife and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust all have adoption programs and are good places to start looking for that special pachyderm.

6. Get involved with Roots & Shoots
Founded in 1991 by Dr. Jane Goodall and a group of Tanzanian students, Roots & Shoots is a youth program created to incite positive change. There are hundreds of thousands of kids in more than 120 countries in the Roots & Shoots network, all working to create a better world. It’s a great way to get youth involved in conservation and pursue careers to help elephants and other wildlife.

Thursday September 6, 2012, 6:08 pm
thx.

Thursday September 6, 2012, 6:32 pm
Thanks Cal for providing the actions we can take. Read and noted.

Thursday September 6, 2012, 10:23 pm
thanks for posting Cal

Thursday September 6, 2012, 10:38 pm

Thank you Cal!

Thursday September 6, 2012, 10:52 pm
Noted, tweeted,and shared. So depressing; some of us care, but others care more about making money than they do about allowing an animal to become extinct. This isn't Jurassic Park; we can't reproduce elephants after they have gone extinct. Don't know why man hasn't realized there is a plan, and if we mess up the plan, the food chain will be broken, and it will change our lives and planet.

Friday September 7, 2012, 2:43 am
Hvala.

Friday September 7, 2012, 2:46 am
Thank you!

Friday September 7, 2012, 2:58 am
Noted - my heart breaks for these gentle creatures, the elephants, rhinos and many others that are being slaughtered by our hands. When will we wake up and decide enough is enough.

Friday September 7, 2012, 3:16 am
Noted. I already do most of the above, apart from the Rambo bit but would love to do that too. Nothing I'd like better than to shoot the poachers in the butt with an elephant gun and see how they like it!

Friday September 7, 2012, 3:21 am
noted

Friday September 7, 2012, 4:30 am
noted, thanks Cal

Friday September 7, 2012, 4:34 am
noted.

Friday September 7, 2012, 7:46 am
Thank you

Friday September 7, 2012, 11:40 am
Noted!

Friday September 7, 2012, 6:11 pm
Noted.

Monday September 10, 2012, 8:45 am
thanx Cal...also keep up with Jill's news from Africa and join Care2 groups.