{"id":8050,"date":"2017-03-25T17:35:42","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T10:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/?page_id=8050"},"modified":"2017-03-28T18:49:18","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T11:49:18","slug":"importance-elephant-conservation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/importance-elephant-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Elephant Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c\">\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_heading-0143049c9d38320b3f5f2119f632ebd1\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-av_heading-0143049c9d38320b3f5f2119f632ebd1{\npadding-bottom:10px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-av_heading-0143049c9d38320b3f5f2119f632ebd1 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-av_heading-0143049c9d38320b3f5f2119f632ebd1 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-av_heading-0143049c9d38320b3f5f2119f632ebd1 av-special-heading-h1 blockquote modern-quote modern-centered  avia-builder-el-1  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '><h1 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >The Importance of Elephant Conservation<\/h1><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c\">\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_full  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_image-b239477ee0d4d8e93a747a14b7de3c29\">\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-b239477ee0d4d8e93a747a14b7de3c29 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-b239477ee0d4d8e93a747a14b7de3c29 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-av_image-b239477ee0d4d8e93a747a14b7de3c29 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-3  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-8615 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-8615 avia_image ' src='https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_8162-1.jpg' alt='Elephant in the wild' title='Elephant in the wild'  height=\"484\" width=\"1024\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c\">\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_full  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-0366cc7376be6c9e82a3e9cc8987b64f '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has listed the Asian Elephant as endangered with a decreasing population.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It is very difficult to accurately count elephant populations due to densely vegetated habitats. The error margins are also high due to different survey techniques\u00a0\u00a0and beliefs that population monitoring is unimportant. However, we do believe that over 50% of the remaining wild Asian elephants are in India.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The overall population trend of the Asian elephant has been downwards for many centuries and this has been especially evident in the countries of South-east Asia. Happily, at least in India, there is some evidence that the large population of elephants in the Western Ghats in the south of the country has been increasing in recent years due to improved conservation effectiveness.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">At the turn of the 20th century, there were about 100,000 Asian elephants. Today, there are probably only between 35,000 &#8211; 40,000 in the wild. They now occur on only about 10% of their historical range and many remaining populations are small, isolated and vulnerable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Habitat loss and fragmentation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Because elephants require much larger areas of natural habitat than most other terrestrial mammals in Asia, they are one of the first species to suffer the consequences of habitat fragmentation and destruction.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Its great size and huge food demands mean that the elephant cannot co-exist easily, if at all, with people in areas where agriculture is the dominant form of land-use.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Asia is the world\u2019s most densely populated continent and much of the elephants&#8217; former range has already been lost. Their natural forest home has been reduced to a fraction of its former size. India\u2019s extensive forests for example, where elephants roamed widely, now cover less than 20 percent of the country, and barely half of that is suitable for elephants.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Thailand has cleared almost all of its lowland forest, creating a huge void of wildlife habitat in the heart of the country, and as the country\u2019s human population continues to grow, the elephants&#8217; remaining habitat is shrinking fast.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">To find the best feeding areas, elephants migrate with the seasons. Large development projects (such as dams, roads, and mines), agricultural plantations and expanding human settlements simply fragment elephant habitat. Wild elephant populations are now mostly small and isolated and unable to mingle as their ancient migratory routes are cut off by human settlements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/p>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c\">\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_one_full  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_image-54696db65acfcc4542f3a4deaf088d08\">\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-54696db65acfcc4542f3a4deaf088d08 img.avia_image{\nbox-shadow:none;\n}\n.avia-image-container.av-av_image-54696db65acfcc4542f3a4deaf088d08 .av-image-caption-overlay-center{\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-image-container av-av_image-54696db65acfcc4542f3a4deaf088d08 av-styling- avia-align-center  avia-builder-el-7  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '   itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class=\"avia-image-container-inner\"><div class=\"avia-image-overlay-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" class='wp-image-8614 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-8614 avia_image ' src='https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_4997-1.jpg' alt='Elephants grazing' title='Elephants grazing'  height=\"683\" width=\"1024\"  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c\">\n.flex_column.av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-av_one_full-6126cab7d8fab8d08143dd2dacdf673c av_one_full  avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_hr  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  column-top-margin'     ><section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-0366cc7376be6c9e82a3e9cc8987b64f '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><b>Human-wildlife conflict<\/b><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">A substantial proportion of the world&#8217;s human population live in or near the elephants\u2019 current ranges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Pressure is growing as Asia&#8217;s population keeps rising and as more and more of the elephants\u2019 habitat is transformed into agricultural land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Elephants and people are now coming into contact more often \u2013 increasing the likelihood of human-wildlife conflicts. In their quest for food, elephants raid farmers\u2019 fields and damage their crops, which are vital for their livelihoods. As a result, farmers sometimes kill elephants to protect their fields and families. Some experts believe that these confrontations are now the leading cause of elephant deaths in Asia. Poaching and capture<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Elephant poaching is not as severe a threat in Asia as in Africa, mainly because all Asian females are tuskless or have only tiny tusks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Nevertheless, in some parts of Asia, especially in India, ivory poaching by selectively removing the tusked males has dramatically skewed adult sex ratios: Over the 20-year period from 1969 to 1989 the adult male-female sex ratio changed from 1:6 to 1:122 dramatically, reducing genetic variation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Asian elephants are still poached for a variety of other products (including meat, hair and leather).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">In some Asian countries, elephants are still taken from the wild to work in the logging industry and for ceremonial purposes. Unfortunately, crude capture methods cause high mortality. Better education and training in the welfare benefits of captive breeding are urgently required. Climate change<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Many climate change projections indicate that key parts of the Asian elephants\u2019 habitat will become significantly hotter and drier, resulting in poorer foraging conditions and threatening calf survival. How is conservation accomplished?<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Conservation of the elephant&#8217;s habitat and maintaining habitat connectivity can be achieved by positively securing corridors between areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Management of human\u2013elephant conflicts is crucial as part of an integrated land-use policy that recognizes elephants as economic assets from which local people need to benefit or at least not to suffer financially.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Better protection for the Asian elephant is essential through improved legislation and law enforcement, improved and enhanced field patrolling, and by regulating\/curbing trade in ivory and other elephant products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">In some countries, compensation is paid for crops destroyed by elephants and where people have been killed. But such policies are not widespread and much more has to be done to prevent the slaughter of elephants in human areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s1\">Reliable estimates of population size and trends are urgently needed as part of this monitoring and adaptive management approach.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div><\/p>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-av_hr-5ea7596238ed9f191e6b5e662093052f\">\n#top .hr.hr-invisible.av-av_hr-5ea7596238ed9f191e6b5e662093052f{\nheight:30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='hr av-av_hr-5ea7596238ed9f191e6b5e662093052f hr-invisible  avia-builder-el-10  el_after_av_one_full  el_before_av_social_share '><span class='hr-inner '><span class=\"hr-inner-style\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div  class='av-social-sharing-box av-av_social_share-1f1f10c982e76726a4eea23f54140331 av-social-sharing-box-default  avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_hr  avia-builder-el-last  av-social-sharing-box-fullwidth'><div class=\"av-share-box\"><h5 class='av-share-link-description av-no-toc '>Share this page!<\/h5><ul class=\"av-share-box-list noLightbox\"><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-facebook' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\" href='https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/importance-elephant-conservation\/&#038;t=The%20Importance%20of%20Elephant%20Conservation' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue8f3' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Facebook' rel=\"noopener\"><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-twitter' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Twitter\" href='https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?text=The%20Importance%20of%20Elephant%20Conservation&#038;url=https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/?p=8050' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue932' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Twitter' rel=\"noopener\"><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-pinterest' ><a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Share on Pinterest\" href='https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphangngaelephantpark.com%2Fimportance-elephant-conservation%2F&#038;description=The%20Importance%20of%20Elephant%20Conservation&#038;media=' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue8f8' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share on Pinterest' rel=\"noopener\"><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share on Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class='av-share-link av-social-link-mail' ><a  aria-label=\"Share by Mail\" href='mailto:?subject=The%20Importance%20of%20Elephant%20Conservation&#038;body=https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/importance-elephant-conservation\/' aria-hidden='false' data-av_icon='\ue805' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello' title='' data-avia-related-tooltip='Share by Mail'><span class='avia_hidden_link_text'>Share by Mail<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8050"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phangngaelephantpark.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}