New Delhi: Every year, on August 12, World Elephant Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance and ongoing efforts to preserve and protect elephants. They are one of the most gentle and loving creatures on this planet, but unfortunately, the elephant population has dwindled over the years due to several factors. Every year, this day gives us a platform to highlight, recognise and raise awareness about the threats these gentle giants face, enabling us to tackle them appropriately and make this planet a better place to live in for them.
What threats are the elephants facing?
Poaching
This is possibly the biggest threat that the elephants are facing. They are poached for their ivory, meat and hides, threatening their existence. Elephant ivory is extremely popular to make ornaments and other works of art and it has led to the decline of their population in Africa in the late 20th century. While ivory imports have been banned all over the world, poaching for it is still rampant.
Loss of habitat
Habitat loss has emerged as a significant threat to the existence of these animals. Elephants are increasingly being crowded out of their habitats due to deforesation, which is affecting their food source heavily as elephants devour plants for their survival. With each passing year, humans are encroaching on their lands more and more for farming and infrastructural development, forcing the elephants to enter human settlements in search of food, leading to an increased human-wildlife conflict.
Conflict with humans
The conflict with humans is a result of the loss of habitat and it has had a significant impact on the population of the elephants. In Asia, elephants residing in areas with some of the highest human populations commonly trample and consume crops since the source of food is decreasing in their natural habitats. As a result, the conflicts between elephants and humans have increased, leading to significant casualties on both sides. Wildlife enthusiasts have proposed protection of wildlife corridors so that elephant populations can get greater interconnectivity and space.
Fragmentation
The expansion of agriculture, plantations, mining, human settlements, and infrastructure, including roads and railways have pushed elephants into smaller forest areas and have made the herds smaller since the places to live have reduced drastically. These populations, trapped in small areas, are threatened by natural disasters and in-breeding and many populations are not sustainable due to their isolation from other herds.
Poaching is possibly the biggest threat that the elephants are facing. They are poached for their ivory, meat and hides, threatening their existence. Elephant ivory is extremely popular to make ornaments and other works of art. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
