Poaching (P3)
African Elephants are constantly at risk, as they are being poached on a daily basis and therefore their population is becoming affected. They are poached for their Ivory tusks, even though the ivory trade is now illegal internationally. However, they are also now poached for their meat and skin as an additional trade. This trade mostly occurs in China, and the ivory tusks are carved and modelled into house décor and types of jewellery such as bracelets and necklaces. The international trade of ivory was banned in 1989 by the organisation CITES. This organisation helped the species population rebuild once again and gain a healthy state. However the poaching has once again increased therefore causing the Savannah Elephant species to decline in population as well as other species of elephant. |
Human Impact (P3)
Due to the human population increasing the small towns and agricultural land is also being expanded. Therefore the elephants are loosing their habitat in order to help the human population survive. So while one species is declining another is increasing as they interact with one another. Due to this, conflict between the two species occurs, as the elephants will trample and damage the farmers fields full of crops which can cause the people to starve. They have also been known to kill humans in the process and therefore this leads to the humans retaliating and killing the elephants which once again causes a decline. Some organisations have created game reserves and other methods such as reintroduction in order to preserve and maintain the species population. |
P3 BY CHELSEA DIMELOW
Distribution of the African Savannah and Forest Elephants in 2007 and 2009
As the maps show, the distribution of the Savannah Elephant has decreased over a period of time and become much more concentrated in certain areas. The Forest Elephant is shown to have a smaller decline of distribution over time as apposed to its ancestors which could suggest that the reason for such a big decline in the Savannah Elephant is due to human impact where their specific habitat is being used or global warming has caused the habitat to become unsuitable for the elephants. Another change in the distribution is that there is large conservation parks to try and help the Savannah Elephant to survive in the last few places in can be found.
P2 by Aimee Davis