In 1989, a ban was enforced on the commercialization of elephant ivory because the elephants were fast becoming endangered animals.  Two years ago, in 2009, a proposal to lift the ban was suggested. Thus ensued what is now being called the Great Ivory Debate. Elephants are still endangered animals. Their population has grown, but not enough to justify lifting the international ban.

Furthermore, it’s extreme cruelty to animals to remove part of their body for profit, leaving them to die on the wayside. Ivory is still a premium item on the black market. There are reported incidents of black market elephants ivory being sold for astronomical prices. Businessmen and traders are intent on turning the ban around in order to cash in on the high pricing.  Many are also speculating that the price of elephant ivory will sky rocket now that there is an ongoing debate on the international ivory ban. The bottom line is still profiteering at the expense of these endangered animals.

There have been several cases of elephant ivory tusks being confiscated en route to Asia, including one case of a North Korean diplomat attempting to smuggle out 33 ivory tusks from Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe appears to be the most lax in enforcing the ban. One case reported of an ivory shipment as a finished product to Japan worth US $90,000. This could have led to other nations wanting their share of the profits by getting the ban lifted.

Zimbabwe along with Namibia and Botswana want the ban to be partial to allow them to export tusks or live elephants as a form of revenue for the government. However, using a country’s economic woes as the reason for lifting the ban is potentially a blackmail tactic that should not be considered. There are other ways of helping a country develop without harming animals. In the first place, ivory trade does not benefit a nation, just a few traders who will earn millions that they probably have no intention of sharing with the rest of their countrymen.

Conservationists argue that lifting the ban will just make all work on increasing elephant population null and void. As it is, there are some special permits being issued by African governments on ivory sport-hunting as trophies.

Obviously, the ban isn’t working 100%, but there is still some measure of control and the elephant population is growing, however slow. Lifting the ban will remove all controls and it will be a free trade market once again. No doubt, elephants will again be sitting ducks to more destructive and cruel methods of removing the tusks.

As a child you may have experience the change in seasons from winter to spring and you start to hear the birds chirp. Unfortunately, as cities expand and take away habitats of nature’s most adorable animals, the Amani Sunbird, among many other species of endangered birds, is no longer part of the birds that chirp away near your house. The reality is that birds become endangered because of habitat loss. The Amani Sunbird, who finds its home usually in central eastern Africa, is part of an ever-growing list of endangered animals.

Male birds can be identified by its white and deep green feathered body with a pointy beak.  It’s not a large bird by any means at 9cm. A female Sunbird would have some yellow and grey tones. As mentioned, the reason why birds become endangered is because of habitat loss. To put things into perspective, one less tree in the world means one less home for birds who house their nests on tree branches. This is why it’s so important that more trees get planted and to perform less clearance. Some of the Amani Sunbird’s favorite places to visit are on trees.

The Amani Sunbird feeds on caterpillars, spiders, and different flying insects. As opposed to certain birds, they may prefer to fly both in groups or by themselves.  Breeding season is normally from May-June and September-December and the female birds would build nests on trees to perform this. You may now realize the importance of trees in conserving the life of birds as it would be hard to reproduce without enough habitat for them to do so, causing them to be endangered.  Therefore, it’s important to realize where these birds live and share a part of our land with them so they can contribute their part of the life cycle.

Reference: Illustrated Encyclopedia of endangered animals.

Poison Dart Frogs remain on the world’s most critically endangered list of animals. They are normally found in places such as Central and South America’s rainforests and as their name suggests, they contain certain levels of toxicity. They are able to release toxins from their skin. However, thanks to their noticeable appearance and bright colors, one can easily identify and keep distance from the frogs. They come in all sorts of color combinations. The reason Poison Dart Frogs remain as one of the most endangered animals so no different than other tropical animals.  The causes are mainly climate change, habitat loss, use of fertilizers and pesticides, or acid rain and attention needs to be directed on saving these frogs so that the life cycle doesn’t get disrupted.

There are about less than 200 known species of poison frogs today so you can imagine how much of an impact the environment is having on these amphibians. In their adult state, they reach a size of only 2-5cm in length and weigh only a few grams. So while they can be very dangerous, their size would also make them seem vulnerable, especially when it comes to effects of pollution and climate change. Their size would be a good reason why they are near extinction.

Rescuing these dart frogs is important because they control the population of various pests. As you can imagine with the life cycle, if not enough of them are available to take on this task, we would have problems of overpopulation or under population. This is likely a problem that spawns with species being extinct so while we should make an effort to protect Poison Dart Frogs, animals in the rainforest that remain crucially endangered should also be protected!