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Plight of Elephants

Purple Elephant Although zebras are my main animal, I love many animals and it saddens me greatly to see how elephants are treated and abused. Particularly young elephants not only left orphaned by poachers, but traumatised and some severely so. It all depends on how violent the death of the adult elephant was.

In Kenya there is an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to orphaned elephants. Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick has continued the legacy of her late husband David after his death in 1977. The care she and her many helpers give to these orphaned elephants is extraordinarily heartwarming as much as it must be heart wrenching each time a little one loses its fight for life. It is something you would never get used to no matter how long you had been doing it, as Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick visibly demonstrated in the American 60 Minutes I first heard about her. You can watch the video yourself (originally aired on April 9, 2006) if you are unfamiliar with the outstanding work she does to help save these very distressed young elephants.

Poaching is not the only plight of elephants, those kept in zoos and used in circuses are suffering unspeakable cruelty. I could understand such brutality to a degree if we were still living in the middle ages, yet here we are in the 21st century with the extensive knowledge we have gained about animals, that such inhumane treatment is simply inexcusable.

To prove the point of the extent of cruelty, take a few moments to read Clara's story and Lilli's Letter. I will be most surprised if you are not shaking your head in disbelief or crying, or both, after your visit.

Cross

14th March 2007

Clara, lived 50 years of misery at the St. Louis zoo in America for our entertainment. She had severe arthritis and foot and sole abscesses. As her rear pads had eroded, she was given rubber soled sandals to wear to fix the problem and constantly shifted her weight from foot to foot, trying to find a comfortable position. Because of the long-term administration of anti-inflammatory drugs, Clara had a history of gastrointestinal illness as well. The zoo allowed her suffering to continue in this way far longer than they should have before finally putting her down.

Clara wearing sandals

Elephants are fascinating gentle giants and have a highly sophisticated social structure. Learn more about them on Wikipedia and another excellent source of information is EleAid.

This site is worth having a look at and has some interesting articles: The Elephant Sanctuary.

There are a number of organisations set up to help elephants and websites with loads of valuable information. This list is not the be all and end all and neither is it in any order of preference:

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Outstanding elephant orphanage in Kenya.

Help Elephants In Zoos  Shocking reports on elephants in zoos.

Help Elephants in Circuses  See just how elephants are treated in circuses.

Save Wild Elephants

Performing Animal Welfare Society

Joyce Poole's Elephant Voices Elephants in the wild.

In Defense of Animals, and the "10 Worst Zoos"

Elephant Care International Information on the herpes virus.

The Amboseli Trust for Elephants Elephants in the wild.

You can keep up-to-date on all elephant news with this Elephant Blog: Care2 Elephant Lovers.

Please don't sit back and think it is not your problem and leave it up to everyone else to fight on behalf of these gentle giants. Make your objections publicly known and help to save the plight of captive elephants and those in the wild in whichever way you can. No matter how insignificant it may seem to you, small efforts from many people will make a huge positive difference to all those elephants suffering around the world!