Are Elephants Teetering on the Brink of Extinction?

Staff infoZine: 
    Groups are working diligently to spread awareness about the ongoing crisis.

   Westport, CT - infoZine - E/The Environmental Magazine - Dear EarthTalk: What is being done to save elephants around the world? I understand that these magnificent creatures are teetering on the brink of extinction. – Millie Vicente, San Jose, CA
   In just one decade between 1979 and 1989, half of all Africa’s elephants were lost to the ivory trade. Public outrage over the loss led to a ban on all international trade in elephant tusks by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)—an international agreement regulating trade in wild animals and plants—and African elephant populations were able to bounce back...
   ...In Zimbabwe, poachers are using cyanide to kill entire herds at a time. In October 2015, rangers in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park found 78 elephants killed by the poison. “We’re now trying to check how many elephants had fully developed tusks, because babies are among those killed,” said Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management spokeswoman Caroline Washaya-Moyo. “The rate at which we are losing animals to cyanide is alarming,” she added. Some 300 elephants fell victim to the same fate in the park a year before. Many non-target species are also dying from the cyanide intended for elephants. The park agency was hoping drones and trained dogs would intensify poacher monitoring...Read complete article here...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bpICIClAIg