The most recent survey in Thailand indicates that unless their is a serious effort to help save the few remaining elephants in the country (approximately 3000 wild elephants and 2000 captive) they could become extinct in fourteen years.
But what does ‘saving’ them mean?
Is keeping and breeding elephants in captivity really saving a species?
Do elephants held in captivity– whether in zoos, circuses, and elephant camps– contribute to the necessary biodiversity as do wild elephant populations?
Wild elephants are ‘keystone’ species. The survival of many other species depend upon the survival of the wild elephant population. Irrevocably humans are in this chain and ultimately our own survival as a species will depend upon our ability to not only control our own population but to protect the natural habitats of our planet.
