I'm going to have a very unusual holiday this year. I'm going to
photograph elephants in Africa. If you would like to do the same, you'd
better book your ticket soon. There won't be any wild elephants in
twenty years' time. They'll all be dead, except maybe for a few in
nature reserves.
An elephant is a walking bank as far as hunters are concerned. The
reason is the price of ivory, which was $5 a kilogram in the 1960's but
is $50 a kilogram now. As the price went up, the killings started.
Elephant populations in eastern Africa started falling and now the total
African population is declining fast.
The largest estimate says that there are about 800,000 African
elephants. In ten years' time, this figure will be halved if hunting
continues as it is now. Another ten years, and the wild elephant will
hardly exist.
Sixteen of the thirty-five African countries which have elephants are
going to restrict trade in elephant products and some of these are going
to start special nature reserves, where elephants are protected. But it
may be too late. If the hunting continues on its present scale, the
elephant will soon be a thing of the past.
