Protect African Elephants' Food Sources
- par: Care2
- destinataire: Hon. Najib Balala, Minister of Tourism and Wildlife, Kenya
African elephants need grass to survive - grass that grows mainly during the wet seasons. And new research on elephants in Kenya's Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves is showing that a global warming-led decrease in the wet season is posing a grave threat to elephant reproduction.
Researchers have tracked elephants' diets for six years, and results show that the changing climate in Kenya is leading to less and less grass that they need for their nutrition. And if the female elephants cannot bulk up enough, they cannot manage their 22-month pregnancies and continue the reproductive cycle.
Tell Kenya's Minister of Tourism and Wildlife: The health and diet of African elephants is important! Take heed of conservation biologists' research and address the problems of adequate nutrition before these magnificent creatures are even more endangered.
Dear Hon. Balala,
I am writing today after learning of the six-year study conducted in Kenya by the University of Utah and Save the Elephants. The research, on elephants in the Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves, shows that a global warming-led decrease in the wet season is posing a grave threat to elephant reproduction.
The changing climate in Kenya is leading to less and less grass that African elephants need for their nutrition. And if the female elephants cannot bulk up enough, they cannot manage their 22-month pregnancies and continue the reproductive cycle.
These magnificent creatures need your help! Not only are they a vital part of our ecoystem, they form the basis of much of the tourism in your region, as people travel from around the world to see these beautiful creatures in their native habitats.
[Your comment here]
The health and diet of African elephants is important to me! Take heed of conservation biologists' research and address the problems of adequate nutrition before these magnificent creatures are even more endangered.
