Endangered species. Does anyone care? Elephants, gorillas, tigers, rhinos .... [View all]

[Flaxbee]

This is the only "social media" site I belong to, and I post news here about elephants, rhinos, gorillas, lions ... even the less "glamorous" species that are being wiped out by human activity. I don't post terribly often, but when I do, the posts sink like a rock. Trump can fart and there are 30 threads about how much it stinks. I realize people may feel helpless in the face of much of this animal devastation, but supporting (financially, or at least through social media or volunteering) conservation efforts is, at the very least, a start. Spare some thought and effort for these species that have just as much right to live on this planet as humans do.

So - do you care? I honestly can't fathom how any human being can look at what is happening and not feel immense grief.

Important, but distressing news:

The African Elephant population is much, much lower than projected (**** some awful photographs at link, be warned ****):
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/31/africa/great-elephant-census/

The Eastern Gorilla is critically endangered:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/04/eastern-gorilla-critically-endangered-illegal-hunting-iucn-red-list

The panda is doing better, but it's cute, which certainly helped its survival And the Chinese government made an effort to preserve / plant bamboo forests and engage in conservation efforts. On the flip side, the Chinese / Asian governments don't seem to give much of a damn about the ivory trade that is wiping out elephants. Political instability in Africa further endangers gorillas and elephants and lions and rhinos; even giraffes are struggling. Well, almost all large mammals are struggling. Wildlife trafficking is inextricably intertwined with terrorist activity and funds, and when the United States decides regime change is necessary - Libya, Syria, not to mention last decade's disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan - it has a profoundly negative impact on endangered species.