I am a citizen of the world
and my home is my abode:
Rivers, lakes and valleys
are my sources of life;
Trees, birds and mountains
are my pride!
I am a citizen of the world
and my home is my abode:
Seas, fishes and oceans
are my sources of hope;
Shorelines, rocks and beaches
are my cliches!
I am a citizen of the world
and my peace is your company:
My children, relatives and friends
are my sources of strength;
Their love, care and tender touch
are my tabernacles.
I am a citizen of mankind
and the whole world is my abode.
It’s a big complex world and we discover new species to science all the time.
“Scientists were startled in 1980 by the discovery of a tremendous diversity of insects in tropical forests.
In one study of just 19 trees in Panama, 80% of the 1,200 beetle species discovered were previously unknown to science …
Surprisingly, scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than how many species there are on Earth.”
World Resources Institute (WRI).
So, if we don’t know how much there is to begin with, we don’t know exactly how much we’re losing. But we do have lots of facts and figures that seem to indicate that the news isn’t good.
International Animal Rescue Foundation World Action South Africa
The Tables are Turned – You Become the Hunted
Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, with “some” populations likely pushed into extinction by the end of the next decade – Central African population possibly the first.
An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 (census counted known) and some 800,00 non-counted – remaining.
An insatiable lust for ivory products in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and has led to the of tens of thousands of African elephants. Between 2010 and 2014, the price of ivory in China has tripled, driving illicit poaching through the roof. If the elephants are to survive, the demand for ivory must be drastically reduced.
As of 2011, the world is losing more elephants than the population can reproduce, threatening the future of African elephants across the continent. Bull elephants with big tusks are the main targets and their numbers have been diminished to less than half of the females.
Female African elephants have tusks and are also killed, which has a terrible effect on the stability of elephant societies, leaving an increasing number of orphaned baby elephants.
Africa’s elephants have just gotten a powerful new supporter – music legend, Billy Joel. Joel’s voice is heard in a series of new ads supporting the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) 96 Elephants campaign – so named for the number of elephants slaughtered each day by poachers.
With the backdrop of computer-animated elephants coming to life from shards of ivory, Joel’s voiceover warns: “We can’t turn back time, but we can reverse this trend. Don’t be the generation that allowed elephants to go extinct.”
The “Take a Stand for Elephants,” campaign was conceived and developed for 96 Elephants by pro bono partner, Steve Harper, founder of ThisisBonaFide.com
It Is What It Is 