World Elephant Day

Last week, August 12th, was World Elephant Day.  Elephants are in trouble primarily due to poaching and habitat loss.  We cannot afford to let these magnificent species go extinct.  There are three species of elephants (with a number of different populations scattered across Africa and parts of Asia), the largest of which is the African elephant, weighing up to 8 tons.  A century ago, it has been estimated that there were as many as 12 million African elephants roaming the continent, but today, there are maybe 400,000 individuals left according to the World Wildlife Fund.  And in recent years, up to 20,000 elephants, or more, are killed in African each year. Something needs to be done.

And in some parts of Africa, something is being done, especially to address the problem of poaching.  To learn more, specifically, you have to check out a new film by National Geographic, and Executive Producer James Cameron (of 'Avatar' and deep ocean exploration fame), Akashinga: The Brave Ones.  This movie looks amazing, and these women, total bad-asses, focused on one mission: stop poaching by any means necessary.  I think this film is a must-see.  We cannot lose such impressive animals, and to see what is being done, to understand the Akashinga, we must witness their efforts, efforts should not go unnoticed.