Elephant Emergency

Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS  Elephant Emergency  The numbers just came in: 2011 was the most brutal year for elephants since 1989. With the price of ivory soaring, elephant poaching is increasingly lucrative for sophisticated criminal gangs. It’s an ongoing struggle. And right now, elephants are losing. In fact, just yesterday, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. announced the guilty pleas of two businessmen for selling more than $2 million of illegal elephant ivory at their New York City shops. As Vance said, “In order to curb the poaching of elephants in Africa and Asia, we need to curb the demand side of the illegal ivory trade right here at home.” In addition to forfeiting their stash, the defendants will pay $55,000 in fines that will be donated to WCS to further our elephant conservation and anti-poaching efforts. But the fight isn’t over. Unfortunately, a House of Representatives committee just recommended slashing funding for elephants and other imperiled wildlife through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If there was ever a time for the U.S. government to step in and protect elephants, that time is now. Send your letter today.   July 2012 Will elephants ever forget 2011? Elephant Emergency Photo of the Month: Collared Calf, Emblem of Hope Register: WCS Run for the Wild Staff Pick: NY Wrecks Inspire Aquarium Design Donate: Help Rebuild a Congolese Park Spotted on Facebook: Plundering the Seas for Soup

Photo of the Month Collared Calf, Emblem of Hope ©Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar/WCS The saiga antelope is precious in more ways than one: these symbols of the Central Asian steppe have survived since the Ice Age, when they roamed far and wide. With their unusually-shaped noses, saiga have a look all their own and distinct roots from other antelopes. In recent decades, populations have dramatically declined across the vast plains of Mongolia. To better understand their range and behaviors, WCS conservationists partnered with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences to capture, collar, and release a number of calves. Now collared for future tracking, this tawny youngster offers hope for a critically endangered species.

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