Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On October 29, 2015, I will be participating in a virtual run for the African elephants at the Farmington Valley YMCA in Granby, CT while dressed in an elephant costume.  Donations will go to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a charitable organization that rears orphaned elephant calves and reintroduces them back into the wild.

1 elephant is killed every 15 minutes.  That’s 96 elephants each day.  That’s 36,000 elephants each year.   At this rate none will be roaming wild in 2025.  Why?  For their ivory.  While ivory importation is banned in the United States,  it is still widely consumed in Asia, particularly in China and Thailand.  An elephant loses his/her life when the tusks are removed.

For more reading on the importance of African Forest elephants and African Savannah elephants in our ecosystems, check out the following links.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/when-elephants-go-extinct-they-will-take-the-trees-with-them/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/forest-elephants-wiped-out-ecosystem/

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140114-elephants-the-forest-gardeners

http://thinkelephants.blogspot.com/2013/12/journey-through-center-of-elephant.html

WHY ARE ELEPHANTS SO IMPORTANT?

Elephants are a keystone species.  A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed, the ecosystem would change drastically.

It is estimated that about 300 different species will become extinct if the African elephant becomes extinct. It makes sense that the African rainforests and savannas will be affected as well. Elephants are herbivores and they eat for about 16 to 18 hours a day.  Why? They only digest about 65% of what they eat.  The rest is eliminated as glorious, rich, partially digested poo.   (I can tell you that I saw a pumpkin growing out of elephant poo when I was in Thailand – amazing)

Elephant dung quickens the growth of vegetation in both forests and savannas.   The tropical rainforests of Africa play a crucial role in keeping our planet healthy. They moderate our climate, absorb the carbon we produce, and act as a major source of atmospheric moisture – which can fall as rain many miles away.  Elephants grow trees in the forests and grasses and small shrubs in the savannas.

Not only do elephants protect the land, they also help feed and protect the species that co-exist with them.  Elephants grow vegetation that other animals eat or use to build shelter.  They protect the other animals at the local watering hole simply with their presence.  They are a deterrent to other predators and help maintain a balance of nature in the food chain.  Elephants are neither predator nor prey in a natural, wild environment.   Their only unnatural predator is man.

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