African Bush Elephant and Empire State Building

African Bush Elephant  : Vulnerable  

Empire State Building  : 381m, New York City, United States   

 

 

African Bush Elephant and Empire State Building _102x65cm_watercolor on paper_2014

 

 

The African elephant is the largest land animals on Earth. The elephant occurs widely in thirty-seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the elephant is a symbol of African wild animals, the population has decreased rapidly due to hunting for ivory. In the 1980s, 100,000 individuals were killed every year. In a certain area, more than 80% of the local population of the elephant disappeared. Another serious threat to the African elephant is loss of habitats caused by human population growth and farmland development. As biofuel farms and mining have expanded, the habitats of the elephant have been destroyed and it has become easier for poachers to approach isolated habitats of elephants in the deep forest. Another threat to the African elephant is the migration of refugees due to chronic poverty and civil war. Concerned persons are increasingly vocal about the very real possibility of the extinction of the African elephant if present trends continue.