Animal rights activists and people who care about the environment are often seen as a bit of a joke. I appreciate that scepticism gives the climate debate credit and that the green lobby can be guilty of outrageous scaremongering at times, but we are literally killing the natural world, and whether this is making the world warmer or not seems irrelevant to the morality of it.
Saving the elephant is some serious shit.
Elephants have incredibly distinct personalities, and they have consciousness, like humans (this is tested with a mirror to see if the animal recognises that the reflection is not a separate creature). An elephant famously has a fantastic memory. They have imaginations, they play, they form specific friendships and bonds. They are gentle and caring, and are traumatised and bereaved when family members die. They live almost as long as humans do. And they have the longest gestation period of any mammal (imagine being pregnant for twenty-two months!).
The very fact that elephants are individual, conscious, sentient, intelligent beings means that, in my opinion, they have as much right to live on this planet as humans do. The problem is that many humans seem to think that they can abuse elephants. Poaching is a serious problem, with ivory in high demand, and elephants are still used in circuses. Elephants are also being driven out of their natural habitats by --big surprise-- humans.
I watched Elephant Diaries on the television the other day and was enchanted by how special these animals are. The idea that they are endangered saddens me tremendously.
Fortunately, there are many people out there trying to save the elephant. The Elephant Parade in London is attempting to raise awareness of the problems facing the Asian elephant.
Please watch this video and sign the petition!
J xxx
