Yoga for elephants in need
Jul 05, 2019
In the last 10 years, the number of African forest elephants has fallen by 60 percent. Poaching and the exploitation of nature by humans is the cause. We must act now, otherwise these beautiful animals could become extinct in the wild within the next decade. A sad prognosis, against which we absolutely want to do something. In our article, we provide insights into our work with the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and explain why it is so important to protect elephants in Africa.
Yoga and elephants - how does that actually fit together?
With yoga we take a break from everyday stress and practice mindfulness. But not only a mindful approach to ourselves, but also to other inhabitants of our planet is the basis for a way of life in harmony with nature. Only in this way can we achieve a harmonious coexistence between all earth beings.
We at LUVIYO cannot and do not want to imagine a world without elephants, the sensitive giant. Therefore we have made it our business to give elephants in Africa a voice. To draw attention to the dramatic decline and threat to African elephants, we carry their symbol in our logo. But that is not enough for us - we really want to make a difference so that elephants are no longer considered an endangered species. Above all, we want to help the most helpless of the grey pachyderms: the baby elephants.
The story of Luna: An elephant orphan
Luna is an African savannah elephant. She was born a year ago in Masai Mara, Kenya, a nature reserve of the Serengeti National Park. Luna's mother was Musara, an elegant elephant cow with beautiful tusks.
Young elephants like Luna learn every step and trunk swing from their mother. Their survival depends on their mother's milk, which is why the little ones do not leave their mother's side. Unfortunately, ivory hunters were after Musara's tusks and ambushed the elephant cow until she was no longer protected by the herd.
Poachers take a brutal approach and, with no regard for the life of the wild animal, take what they came for, the white, curved teeth of the elephants. The violent assault often ends with the death of the animal. Luna has also tragically lost her mother in this way.
Without milk Luna became weaker and weaker until the herd moved on without her. The little elephant wandered around completely exhausted and frightened and was at the mercy of wild cats and other predators. It was only a matter of time before Luna would lose the fight for survival. Fortunately, rangers of the national park discovered the little baby elephant and Luna could be saved. In the elephant orphanage she recovered from the physical and mental strains and found a new home. Today Luna celebrates her first birthday - safe and sound.
The fate of Luna is unfortunately not an isolated case. African baby elephants that have lost their mother are increasingly being found in the wild.
Why are there elephant orphans at all?
Every year more than 20,000 elephants die in Africa from poaching. So-called ivory hunters are after the tusks of the adult animals. Although the elephant bone trade has been banned in most countries since 1975, the black market for the forcibly removed teeth is booming enormously. Poachers are even invading protected nature reserves to hunt elephants. In addition to hunting elephants, drought, deforestation and other human-animal conflicts are among the threats to the pachyderms and have led to their drastic decline in recent decades.
In contrast to Asian elephants, African elephants can develop both male and female tusks. Therefore, especially in Africa, many elephant cows are hunted, often leaving behind a young one. Not all baby elephants are as lucky as Luna and are found in time. Often any help comes too late for them.
How can elephants be protected?
To understand how serious the threat to African elephants is, it is enough to look at the figures. In 1969, there were still about 1.3 million animals - today, only about 400,000 savannah and forest elephants inhabit our primeval continent. In the year 2016 alone, the elephant population has declined by 8 percent.
In order to counteract this radical loss, species protection projects were initiated in the past. Local aid organisations fight insatiably against poaching. Whether with airplanes in the air, trained rangers and veterinarians on the ground, or elephant orphanages as refuges for animals that could not survive in the wild on their own - many dedicated helpers are in constant action.
How you use your yoga mat to help save baby elephants
Precisely because baby elephants are so helpless without their mother, their protection is very important to us. Our contribution is the donation of ten percent of the profit we make from the sale of our Yoga Wear.
The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust finances its project exclusively through donations and sponsors and is dependent on every support. Among other things, it pays with the collected funds:
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The wages of the keepers
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supplementary food in times of drought
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Veterinary care and medication
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Costs for rescue aircraft
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The construction of stables
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The acquisition of small trucks and special vehicles for the transport from Nairobi to Tsavo.
In addition, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is organising the construction of water boreholes so that the precious water does not dry up during the dry season. In addition, it supports the work of the rangers of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), because elephant orphans only have a secure future if ivory poaching is effectively combated.
With your LUVIYO yoga mat you are not only doing something good for yourself but also for the endangered African elephants and you are making the world a little better.