WILDLIFE CINEMA: THE LOST ELEPHANTS OF TIMBUKTU

"Sir David Attenborough narrates this documentary following young research student Anne Orlando as she sets out on an unforgettable adventure, hoping to solve the mysteries surrounding a herd of elephants that inhabit the desert south of the fabled city of Timbuktu.

How do they survive the arid conditions? Why do they disappear for two months each year? And why do they make an annual journey across the desert?"

HOMAGE TO ELEPHANTS

Elephants are crying. They are at their darkest hour. It is indeed very sad!!

If we are not careful and go about pulling out the spokes of the Wheel of Life one by one, sooner or later it will be our turn to fall. 

We all must do a serious soul-searching and change course before we reach this point in order to keep it from happening.

Here is a homage to the abused and fallen elephants:

THE ELEPHANT´S PAIN: VULTURE BEAKS AND HUMAN HANDS

By Hugo M. G. von Österreich und von Toskana
Member of the Union of Concerned Scientists (USA) 
May 1, 2013

Source: Dangerous Creation - for thinkers

                                                                   

Vultures know what to do with the body a dead elephant. These scanvengers play a very important role in the well-being of the natural ecosystems. They are adapted to feeding upon decomposing animal matter and by doing so they get rid of any source of pathogens and disease. In other words, vultures help keep the whole ecosystem clean and fit. 

Furthermore, vultures are links and channels for the energy flux in the food web. They are not only the cleaning crew in nature but also the transformers of matter in the ecosystem. And their ecological services are free of charge.

So dead elephants in vulture beaks are spokes of the wheel of life and keep it spinning along with the other living creatures on this planet (Video 1).

                                              Video 1. Vultures feeding on an elephant carcass.

Enter humans in the picture and what you get is a totally different equation. 

This "wise" primate could very well be the guardian of life on Earth but instead he has become the major agent of nature destruction wherever he pokes his nose into. Humans are generally speaking spokes of the wheel of death.

Thus, elephants in human hands become objects of greediness, business and sport in unnecesary bloodshed (Video 2-3).

                                                 Video 2. Butchering of an elephant by people.

                                                            Video 3. Ivory trade in Africa.

Humans are like maggots on this planet. They eat, disturb and contaminate the natural world and their pollution disrupts life cycles in any ecosystem whereas vultures contribute to the maintenance of the temple of life.

Thank God there are exceptions, people who make elephants living monuments of admiration, for these pachyderms are indeed other nations and as such they do deserve our deepest respect.

Let us not forget that the elephant´s pain is also our pain. 


References

CITES (2012). Elephant Conservation, Illegal Killing and Ivory Trade. Sixty-second Meeting of the Standing Committee, Geneva, Switzerland. SC62 Doc. 46.1 (Rev. 1): 1-29.

Fargeot C (2003). La chasse et le commerce de la venaison en Afrique Centrale. Université de Toulouse, France, Memoire de Recherche. 174 p. 

Grönig K. & Sellar M. (1999). Elephants: A Cultural and Natural History. 1st Edition. Könemann, Cologne, Germany. 482 p.

Martin E. & Stiles D. (2000). The Ivory Markets of Africa. Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya. 86 p.

Moss C. (1992). Echo of the Elephants. The Story of an Elephant Family. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, NY, USA. 192 p.

Shepherd C. R. & Nijman V. (2008). Elephant and Ivory Trade in Myanmar. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia. 32 p.

Stiles D. (2011a). Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa: Summary Report. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 103 p.

Stiles D. (2011b). Elephant Meat and Ivory Trade in Central Africa. Pachyderm, 50: 26-36.  

Stiles D. (2011c). Le commerce de la Viande d´éléphant en Afrique Centrale. Rapport de synthèse. UICN, Gland, Switzerland. 109 p. 

Sukumar R. (2003). The Living Elephants: Evolutionary Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation. Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, NY, USA. 478 p.

Vigne L. & Martin E. (2002). Myanmar´s ivory trade threatens wild elephants. Gajah, 21: 85-86. 

ELEPHANT GENOCIDE: URGE THAILAND TO BAN THE TRADE OF IVORY

Source: WWF
View original

Every day across Africa, wild elephants are being slaughtered to meet the insatiable demand for ivory. Entire herds are being poached out of existence to supply the illegal trade of ivory carvings and trinkets in Asia.

The scale of illicit activity is staggering in places like Thailand. Poachers and organized crime syndicates there are making millions of dollars a year, turning this southeast Asian nation into the largest unregulated ivory market in the world.

On March 3, Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra stood before a crowded hall of delegates attending the opening of an international wildlife trade meeting and told the world that her country will end the trade of ivory in Thailand. This is an enormous step forward in the fight to stop wildlife crime. But there is more to be done.

Please help keep up the pressure to ensure that this promise becomes a reality. Join the "Hands Off My Parts" movement to stop wildlife crime. Sign today HERE

ELEPHANTS: AMAZING PAINTERS!

Source: YouTube

Watch this elephant paint a beautiful image of an elephant holding a flower. You'll be amazed at how her talent unfolds as she carefully completes each stroke. Her mahout talks to her throughout the process as his gentle touch gives her confidence. She focuses on her work and seems to enjoy the approval of the audience and, of course, the sugar cane and banana treats. All of her training has been reward based.

So touched by their horrific backgrounds and loving personalities, ExoticWorldGifts.com now supports, "Starving Elephant Artisans" by selling their paintings so they can continue to have a new life in Thailand. Own a print of the art for $15.

Some Thai elephant experts believe that the survival of the Asian elephant species will most likely depend on the good treatment of the elephants in well managed privately owned elephant camps. All of us would prefer that all of the elephants be free to be in the wild. For many reasons, that is not possible at this time.

You can learn more and purchase these unique paintings at http://www.exoticworldgifts.com/