Elephants are extremely intelligent and form strong social bonds and family ties among one another. Many have given the animal anthropomorphic qualities because of their social ties, abilities to communicate with each other and even humans, and their emotions. Elephants know the trauma of lost love ones and can recognize the remains of their family members. They care for their wounded and mourn for their dead; some elephants have been known to starve themselves to death in their mourning.
Effects of Extinction:
The extinction of the African Elephant would mean far more than just the loss of a single species. The African Elephant is a keystone species, and therefore plays a critical role maintaining the ecosystems in which they live in. The African Elephant is necessary for shaping and sustaining certain habitats, and without them, these habitats may cease to exist. Elephants are essential in maintaining the species diversity and stability within the habitats in which they live. They maintain grasslands by weeding out trees and shrubs, which would otherwise convert those areas into forests or shrub-lands. Elephant droppings provide nutrients and also a means of seed dispersal that some plants depend on. They create waterholes, which other species depend on and create pathways that other animals use. Elephants disperse the seeds of more plants than any other species. As many as thirty percent of species of trees depend entirely on elephants to disperse their seeds and would not be able to live without them (NC Zoo Society). If the African Elephant were to go extinct, it would lead to a cascade of extinctions and the destruction of whole ecosystems. The matter of preventing the extinction of this species is therefore not just an issue of saving one species, but instead requires a holistic look at conservation. Saving the African Elephant means the protection of entire habitats and biodiversity overall. |
| Original Figure showing the importance of the African Elephant as a keystone species in ecosystems |
