“I meant what I said

And I said what I meant

An elephant’s faithful

One hundred per cent!”      – Dr. Seuss

As you can see here, this is a black and white image of an elephant that I drew during class time. They were stressful weeks but it was worth it as the drawing came out pretty good.

Elephants are majestic land mammals. They have been revered for centuries in Asia, playing an important role in the continent’s culture and religion. They also play a critical role in maintaining the region’s forests. Asia is the world’s most densely populated continent and a huge percentage of the elephants’ former range has already been lost. And as the human population continues to grow, the species’ remaining habitat is shrinking fast.

Elephants can also be found in Africa. African elephants weighs up to eight tons. The elephant is distinguished by its massive body, large ears and a long trunk, which has many uses ranging from using it as a hand to pick up objects, as a horn to trumpet warnings, an arm raised in greeting to a hose for drinking water or bathing.

Elephant poaching is not as severe a threat as it is in Africa, but Asian elephants are still killed for their tusks, meat and skin. They’re also taken from the wild for the live elephant trade – primarily going to Thailand for the tourism industry.

If threats like these continue to happen, these majestic animals would sadly disappear in the future. How can we save them? I believe we can save them from becoming extinct.

Digital illustration by Hikari Tsuneyoshi