 Researchers look at the posture of an elephant to help determine its mood. If you go by Hollywood, elephants only converse in trumpets. However, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Elephants not only make noises to communicate, they have their own sign language, and even send out vibrations we humans can't catch!
Researchers have spent dozens of years observing elephant communication, and they've shared some of their findings, which I thought I'd pass on to you. There are several facets of elephant communication; more than with human communication, actually. Here are the different categories, as organized by Elephant Voices:
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I am constantly discovering (and sometimes envying) the genius of others, but in this article, I bow to these amazing research projects that work to protect elephants and rhinos against the ivory trade. I've shared my favorites with you because y'all need to know about these too.
1. Rhino Rescue Project This project blows my mind. Rhino Rescue Project, which many of you know as the project that dies rhino tusks pink, was started in South Africa in 2010. RRP is the result of a desire to be proactive and protect a member of the Big 5, the rhino, which is under threat of disappearing this year. Their idea? Devalue the horn!  I learned this morning that one of my favorite actors died of cancer. Alan Rickman, best known for his role as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series, passed away this morning at the age of 69.
This news is not only sad because the world has lost another wonderfully talented actor, it is disappointing that Rickman's life ended so early. After David Bowie's death on Jan. 10, this news seems almost eerie. Bowie, who was battling liver cancer, also passed away at 69. Now that we're all feeling down, let's move on to a happier note. The reason this celebrity news is on my elephant blog is due to a fascinating recent discovery: elephant don't get cancer.  In this post we're going to look at how poaching works, following the trade from the attack on the elephant herd to the sale of a carved ivory product. To see a visual explanation of this process, check out this video.
Poaching is a much more sophisticated trade than we think, which is why it's so hard to capture poachers and to eliminate poaching rings. But before I get ahead of myself, let's start at the beginning: If you're like me, you've spent your Christmas break watching a few more videos than you probably should have. But luckily, this can be turned into something that's both fun and productive (and that I can turn into a blog post)! So I decided to make a list of my favorite elephant videos, just for fun. Enjoy!
WildAid WildAid, a global organization that works to stop wildlife trade all over the world, has scores of celebrity ambassadors from several nations. One of my favorites who's gotten a lot of publicity recently, is Harrison Ford. Here's a cool video he did for WildAid. |
AuthorKerry Skiff is a conservation advocate and recent journalism graduate of Northern Kentucky University. She follows the ivory trade around the world, and uses her voice to educate Americans about their role in animal conservation. Archives
September 2016
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