Elephant Valley
Menu- WELCOME TO THE ELEPHANT VALLEY!
- FROM ASIA OR AFRICA?
- FROM THE LIFE OF ELEPHANTS
- WATER OVER GOLD
- BIG EATERS
- ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED
- HARD LIFE WITH ELEPHANTS
- HARD LIFE WITH PEOPLE
- PARTNERSHIP OF PEOPLE AND ELEPHANTS
- ELEPHANTS IN CEREMONIES
- ELEPHANTS AT WORK
- ELEPHANTS FROM PINNAWALA
- GANESHA
- ELEPHANTS IN HINDUISM
- THE SOVEREIGN WHITE ELEPHANT
- THE DREAM OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED
Over the centuries, the number of elephants in Asia has declined, and their habitat is fragmented. In order to prevent their extinction, international co-operation in their protection and in connecting the areas in which they can live is required.
STEADILY IN RETREAT
Four thousand years ago Asian elephants lived in a vast area from modern Iran to the coast of the Yellow Sea. They have become extinct in 94% of the area, however, and today they occupy only small patches in the south and south-east of the continent. It is this very fragmentation of area and the consequent isolation of the populations that is one of the greatest threats to the species.
THE MAIN SANCTUARY
The main sanctuaries for wild elephants today are India and Sri Lanka – more than half of the world‘s elephant population lives there. Sri Lanka is the country with the greatest elephant density in Asia. They enjoy great respect with local people, so that even in remote villages people usually adopt conservation goals as their own.
NATIONAL PARKS ARE NOT ENOUGH
Strictly guarded national parks aren’t, and can’t be, large enough in populous Asia to satisfy all of the elephants’ needs. The hope for elephants lies in complementing them with more extensive and interconnected areas with a moderate protection regime that balances the needs of people and animals.
THE END OF CAPTURE
The majority of domestic working elephants in Asia come from the capture of wild animals. Because of the high demands of caring for young and lactating cow elephants, owners will usually not breed elephants. A captured animal, however, will no longer contribute to the breeding of the wild ones. For the wild population, it is the same loss as if it had died. By supporting the breeding of domestic elephants it’s possible to contribute to the protection of their wild relatives. Expanding breeding will hence forgo the need to obtain animals from the wild.
A DISAPPEARING ENVIRONMENT
The main problem for Asian elephants is the loss of suitable habitats. There has been a sharp increase throughout Asia in the number of people, and rural areas are being turned into cities. Vast dreary monocultural plantations have been established in the previously colourful mosaic of landscape and elephants find themselves surrounded by a hostile environment which they find extremely difficult to travel through.
