“Walking Thunder,” a film by Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson, tracks elephants across Africa. The couple’s son, Lysander, guides viewers through his discovery, first of the elephants and peoples of Africa, and then of the threats they face. Christo calls the film a “prayer” for the species.
The Chinese ivory market is being dismantled after 5,000 years. There may be a little more hope than a year ago for the elephant but the narcissist butchery of hunters and the carnage of poaching still challenge the species and many others.
In this unprincipled time of elephant carnage in the name of ivory, my wife, son and I have come to view elephants as being on equal footing, searching for them with a guide on conservation lands.
CITES is considering a proposal to reclassify all African elephants to the category Appendix I, which only allows trade in “exceptional circumstances” for species “threatened with extinction.” The elephant is already classified as Appendix I, the highest level of protection, in all member states except Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
Published on Izilwane, Author: Lysander Christo Today, the problem is poaching. It is estimated that one elephant dies every 15 minutes. We lose thousands of elephants to poaching every year, …
PUBLISHED IN OPINIONS/MY VIEW, SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN - 9/8/2013 Several years ago, my wife, Marie, and I began to mourn the tragic dismembering of elephant society across Africa. We ...