It’s not all the time we hear stories about elephants. The truth is, there are many things about them that are interesting. Aside from being the world’s largest land mammals, it is also fascinating to know how they communicate with each other, how much they can eat in a day, and many more.
We will get to know more about these species if we will constantly research things that are about them.
This includes the adversities that they have been facing.
Sadly, they are now considered endangered.
According to WWF, around 90% of the population of African elephants has been eradicated in the past century. Based on their site, there are approximately 415,000 African elephants and less than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild.
The numbers are truly heartbreaking. It tells us that we should really protect these amazing huge animals from people and activities that ruin their habitat.
Poaching
This is one of the reasons behind the massive decrease in their population. They are being poached for their ivory tusks. This is despite having a ban on international trade in ivory, which was introduced in 1989 by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Aside from poaching, there are also other reasons why their number is dropping off. This includes “the rapid growth of human populations and the extension of agriculture into rangelands and forests formerly considered unsuitable for farming mean that elephant habitat is continuing to be lost”.
There is a brighter side for them.
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Aside from several wildlife organizations and anti-poaching campaigns, there is one organization that devotedly protects elephants from threats.
It is the Akashinga and it is an arm of the nonprofit International Anti-Poaching Foundation.
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Aside from elephants, they also aim to look after rhinos and lions against poachers and other dangers.
They deserved to be called “The Brave Ones”!
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Akashinga means “brave ones” in the Shona language. This name really suits them because they are more than courageous. Not only they are risking their lives, but they also go through intensive training before anything else. According to IAPF, this group was “recruited and trained in an abandoned trophy hunting reserve in Zimbabwe”.
It all started in 2017 and they’ve already made an 80% downturn in elephant poaching in Zimbabwe’s Lower Zambezi Valley. Do you know what’s more amazing? They are all women! All of them work hard to protect wildlife. Imagine if this organization wasn’t established, the animals and the entire nature could have been doomed.
Many of the ladies who are part of this army are survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse. Despite their unfortunate past, they are still willing to protect nature with all their strength and will. They are amazing!
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Meet their founder.
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Damien Mander, a former Australian army sniper, and an environmentalist. If you will visit his Instagram account, you’ll see that he usually shares about the journey of Akashinga. He also proudly posted about the short documentary about these ladies. It shows a glimpse of what they do every day and how much commitment they put into it. It’s called Akashinga: The Brave Ones and it was released by National Geographic.
In the video, you’ll see how the ladies are being trained. You’ll also hear how dedicated they are to protecting the animals. Some of them also shared a bit of their life in the past before they join Akashinga.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Es44-JPut/
These women are truly inspiring and empowering. Hopefully, many people would be able to hear their stories.
Watch the video right below to get to know more about these amazing women!
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