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第1354篇·象牙 | Elephant Tusk
(2016-05-01 10:06:48)
标签：
象牙肯尼亚焚烧杂谈 |
分类： 2016年 |
Elephant Tusk
In the past, there were elephants living as far north as
northern China. Now the 100 or so elephants remaining in China are
confined to the far southern border in Yunnan. Three thousand years
ago in the Xia and Shang dynasties elephants roamed the areas
around the Yellow River, with their bones being discovered at
latitudes as far north as Beijing. The abbreviation character for
Henan province (豫) contains the character for elephant (象) because
of this.
Elephants have two large, beautiful tusks, which has led to
their downfall throughout the ages. As the largest terrestrial
mammal on Earth, elephants have become an endangered species in
just 40 years due to our fervent demand for
ivory. If we don’t do anything now, wild elephants might disappear
forever.
Recently Kenya set flames to 105 tones of ivory, helping to
expose to the world the plight of elephants as well as the resolve
of the international community to put an end to this slaughter.
These mountains of tusks were set aflame producing dark plumes of
smoke, as if to symbolize the horror of what’s happening to the
elephants. While the heavy rains that day in Nairobi symbolized
their exasperated tears.
In just three years between 2012 and 2014 there have been an
estimated 100,000 killed for their ivory. At this rate we could
lose elephants in just 10 years. The 105 tones of ivory today
represented almost 7,000 elephants. Investigations from
international groups have shown that nearly 90% of the illegal
ivory is destined for China. Throughout history, from Victorian
England to Japan in the 80’s, the rise of the middle class has
spelled trouble for elephants. Now the problem is with us in China.
We need to join this awakening of an environmental consciousness
and join the fight to help protect elephants. It all starts with
the simple concept “when the buying stops, the killing can
too”.
These words above are part of my effort as a WildAid
ambassador to motivate more people to care about these incredible
animals and work for their protection.
by Weidu Ma
April 30th 2016
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