I’ve always loved elephants for as long as I can remember. The older I get, the more amazed I am by them. They are incredible and endearing. They are wrinkly and gorgeous. They are smart and feel many of the same emotions as humans. And they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

It’s pretty common knowledge that this tragedy is due largely to the ivory trade. Presently, eight out of ten elephants are killed for their ivory, rather than dying naturally. Despite recent efforts to ban the trade of ivory, elephants could be extinct in 10-15 years with the current rate of poaching.

What most people don’t think about, however, is the baby elephants that are left for dead when their families are killed for ivory, the poacher’s side of the story, and the entire ecosystem supported by the presence of these magnificent creatures.

I sat down and watched the critically acclaimed documentary Gardeners of Eden to learn more about the struggle behind poaching & the ivory trade, and the incredible organization in Africa fighting to save an entire species. The following are facts that everyone should know.

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