The Poaching of Elephants
“An elephant disappears every 15 minutes” (Kathryn Bigelow). Elephants are an important species. Elephants are considered a keystone species in the African landscape. That means elephants play a key role in maintaining the balance of all other species in the community. They pull down trees and break up thorny bushes, which help to create grasslands for other animals to survive. During the dry seasons, elephants use their tusks to dig for water. This not only allows elephants to survive in dry environments, it also provides water for other animals that share harsh habitats. They create trails that act as fire breakers and water run offs. Other animals, including humans, depend on the openings elephants create in the forest and brush and in the waterholes they dig. Wherever they live, elephants leave dung that is full of seeds from the many plants they eat. When this dung is deposited the seeds are sown and grow into new grasses, bushes and trees, boosting the health of the ecosystem. These facts might not seem to be very important, but they are. They show
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There have been many ideas about elephant poaching and if it should be continued. “A ban would not save the elephant either. In fact, it would do the opposite and probably hasten its extinction in the wild” (MacMillan). MacMillan believes that banning ivory does not help the elephants survive that it actually causes them to die quicker. This idea could work and help elephants survive for a longer time because ivory will be less expensive and people would want it less since it’s not banned anymore. Also it will let the economy gain more money. In particular, this reason may not work because since it won’t be banned, people will continue their desire for ivory. With this problem at hand, it will still remain to cause death to these beautiful