Joel Sartoreのインスタグラム(joelsartore) - 4月11日 03時56分

A 29-year-old male Asian elephant at the @thelosangeleszoo.
The elephant is the largest land animal on the planet, although the endangered Asian elephant is slightly smaller than the African elephant. They are social creatures, living in groups of six or seven females led by the oldest member-- the matriarch. They are incredibly intelligent, sensitive and gentle animals, and are a vital part of shaping the landscapes they live in.
Wild elephants are the gardeners of the forest. They wander areas that cover up to 125 square kilometers and feed on plants for up to 19 hours out of the day. Throughout that time, they produce dung that disperses seeds throughout the forest. Through this process, elephants protect and maintain many species of plants that are essential for a thriving ecosystem. If elephants become extinct, this important cycle will be broken and many species will follow them.
Asian elephants face many threats, including habitat loss and poaching. Thankfully, CITIES has now banned the trade of ivory, but illegal activity still exists. Not only are they killed in the wild, but elephants are also taken from their forest homes for use in logging and tourist industries. Asia relies heavily on tourism, and many of those tourists understandably want a once in a lifetime experience with an elephant. But unfortunately, some elephants forced into the tourism industry are living in grim conditions. They are trained through negative reinforcement to interact with and perform for tourists. They are fed unhealthy and cheap diets usually of sugar cane, and because they are worked so hard they rarely reproduce, contributing to the decline of the already endangered Asian elephant population.
In order to help protect elephants, avoid elephant tourism in Asia. Instead, spend your time and money visiting legitimate conservation centers where an intimate experience with an elephant can still be had, and protection of the animal is put first. Remember, saving species means saving ourselves.
To see another image of this beautiful elephant, check out @ナショナルジオグラフィック.
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#asianelephant #endangeredspecies #savetheelephants #banivory #animaltourism #animalconservation #photoark #natgeo

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