Hi Katalusis friends,Animals have intelligence and feelings; read the email below that just hit my inbox:
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Welcome to Katalusis for progressive views on politics, religion, environmental issues, and popular culture. (Photo of the Mississippi River from the University Club in St. Paul, MN.)
Showing posts with label elephant slaughter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elephant slaughter. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Poachers Strike Again!
Hi Katalusis friends,Animals have intelligence and feelings; read the email below that just hit my inbox:
Friday, June 5, 2015
Five things that make elephants special
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| Courtesy of Defenders of Wildlife. |
In this morning's email, Barry writes:
Dear Virginia,
Elephants capture our imagination, and for good reason!
The
largest living land animals, elephants live complex social lives which
we are only beginning to understand. Here are just five of the things
that make elephants special.
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A male Asian elephant named Koshik – can imitate human speech – matching Korean speech format frequencies in such detail that Korean native speakers can readily understand and transcribe the imitations.
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Elephants are the only non-human species known to mourn their dead. Researchers have documented many instances of death rituals at which elephants will somberly visit the bones of other dead elephants.
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You know that old saying about how an elephant never forgets? Well, it’s amazing what they can remember. Research has shown than an elephant matriarch can keep track of up to 30 herd-mates at a time. Researcher Richard Byrne concludes that elephant memories are "far in advance of anything other animals have been shown to have."
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Elephants are capable of expressing complex thoughts such as warning others of danger, reconciling differences and communicating needs and desires using a system of visual and acoustic signals. Amazingly, recent discoveries show that most vocal calls are at a frequency that humans can’t even hear!
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Overhunting by humans is believed to be a factor in both mastodon and mammoth extinctions. Stopping poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking in elephant ivory will be essential in order to stop Asian and African elephants from suffering the same fate.
Elephants
are truly incredible creatures! That’s why it’s so important that we do
everything we can to protect them from illegal wildlife trafficking,
which includes stopping the demand for Ivory right here in the U.S.
Sincerely,
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Don Barry
Senior Vice President, Conservation Programs
Defenders of Wildlife |
Monday, June 1, 2015
The greed-motivated slaughter of African elephants
Help Stop the African Elephant Slaughter!
The United States is the
second largest consumer of illegal ivory in the world.  |
Although I've long been in awe of elephants, I'd never given much thought to genuine ivory or how it's obtained until Jamie Rappaport Clark started cluing me in to the greed-motivated slaughter of these legendary, dignified, and intelligent beasts. Read the email below that I just received from Jamie, and you'll be as shocked as I was to learn of our nation's role in this travesty.
Dear Virginia,
As
you read this, an African elephant lies dying – yet another victim of a
poacher's rifle. Her ivory tusks will be hacked off her still-warm body
to fuel an illegal international ivory trade worth millions of dollars.
This is the gruesome reality behind the illegal ivory trade – but you can help stop it.
Between 2010 and 2012, poachers slaughtered an estimated 100,000 elephants for their ivory. That's roughly one elephant butchered every 15 minutes.
The United States is the second largest consumer of illegal ivory in the world. But even as President Obama seeks to end U.S. trade in ivory and other illegal wildlife, Congress is introducing legislation to relax restrictions on importing, exporting and selling ivory in the United States!
Your urgent support will help us raise our voices for embattled elephants by helping us:
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Keep the pressure on the White House to follow through on plans to end the domestic trade in ivory;
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Mobilize against Congressional efforts to weaken ivory import, export and sale restrictions;
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At the grassroots level, help enact state-wide ivory bans in key consuming states; and
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Ensure U.S. conservation leadership at international wildlife fora such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
As
America’s leading voice for imperiled wildlife, Defenders has a
critical role to play in stopping the deadly scourge of elephant
poaching by shutting down illegal ivory trafficking into and within the
United States. And it’s not just elephants – illegal international trade
in wildlife is a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Tigers, rhinos and
sea turtles are also being decimated to fuel these illicit markets.
There’s no time to lose. Stand with me today so that our children can experience the wonder of elephants in their world.
Sincerely,
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Jamie Rappaport Clark
President, Defenders of Wildlife |
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