Syahputra

1M. Bahrainuddin. Syahputra

William Hicklin
English 9
September 15, 2015
Movement to protect elephants and rhinos
The movement in 136 cities across the globe dubbed as the Golden March for
Elephants and Rhino has marched thousands of people flooding the streets,
demanding to an end with rhinos and elephants poaching. With warning in their hands
and fury in their eyes, the people were serious about animals endangerment and try to
cease extinction. Even some wore rhino or elephant suits to further intimidate or
convince government to take animals poaching consequences seriously. In recent
years thousands or even hundred thousands of rhinos and elephants were killed,
fueling the rage of masses around the world. The protests have been mainly put on the
government and countries that are involved in animals body part trade and the people
are trying to pressurize the government to stop this epidemic. If this continues,
extinction is nigh and museum will be the place where they belong and remembered
in the not so distant future. And, here is why these massive animals are being poached
and why they are so valuable.
Rhinos are primarily poached and dismantled for their horns embedded in
their skulls, this chemically complex structure that grows on the heads of rhinos are
extracted from the corpse and sold to black market that ensures worthwhile money for
the illegal poachers. Meanwhile elephants are pilfered for their ivory and tusks that
are embodied within the bone structure, which again are sold in the black market for
money. But, the real question is why are these things so valuable and drive poachers
to slaughter these animals? The answer lies with the buyers. According to traditional

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Chinese, the rhinos horns and elephants tusks are grinded to powder, then boiled in
water for the patients to consume. This custom has been practiced for over 2000 years
and have been said to cure diseases and wounds such as fever, snakebites, vomiting,
headaches, and other disorder. However, according to scientists and doctors the
remains have no affect that could cure disease nor give any benefit to the human body,
which render the so-called medicine useless. Even though this has been proven, many
superstitious people still believe in the healing power of animals remains and raised
high demands for more tusks and horns. Some wealthy people also seek the bones of
rhinos or elephants mainly for collection, house ornaments, or simply to signify the
extent of their power or wealth. This of course could lead to extinction of rhinos and
elephants that may alter their surrounding environment and pulverize the heritage of
earth forever.
When and if the time comes where rhinos and elephants are gone from the
wilds, this could cause a serious problem to the ecosystem and its biodiversity. Think
of connection between animals and their environment as an intricate web of chains
where all living beings are connected with each other, giving benefit to one another. If
certain species is gone forever and the chain broken, it has a high chance of affecting
the other species still connected to the chain. For example, the feces of elephant after
a meal of plants could contain seeds, which ascertain the reproductive of plants life
across wide land. If elephants go extinct, then it means less reproduction of plants
where other animals could find food source easily become scarce and further maintain
less chance of animals survival in the vast wild. This is also the case as rhinos where
these horned beasts act as lawnmower for plants and grass alike. According to survey
done in the savannah, in area where there are rhinos, the height of grasses in the
surrounding area is fairly low. The rhinos flatten the grasses as they advance and so

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prevent the grasses from growing very tall. This allows other animals such as gazelles
or zebras to roam freely and escape predators easily. If both species go extinct, its the
opposite of all the above.
To not make this a tragic moment in history of humanity, there are few ways to
prevent the catastrophe. The first targets are the poachers, these people with no love
for animals must be stopped at all cost by pressurizing countries involved with
poaching to change laws of animal trade therefore the demands for tusks or horns
decline which impose poaching worthless. Another way is to punish illegal poacher
with years sentence or death sentence, it maybe inhumane but we got to think what
best for the future of humanity. The third way is to increase people awareness of
extinction, which if raise enough support could bring the extravagant goal of peace
between animals and humans.
Elephants and rhinos are phenomenal creatures that used to be in great
numbers, but now are critically endangered of being close to the brink of extinction
from the wilds where they belong. Therefore may cause the imbalance of nature and
the loss of important heritage. Lost forever and become one with history, where
museums showcase the past and our future generation will only see in medias. As
humans and the most dominant species on earth, we must shape a much better future.
Not to destroy what God has given to us, but to preserve them all with care and love.
If we keep destroying the ecosystem, it may also affect humanity.

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Works Cited
Elephant Poaching: Thousands March Worldwide For Wildlife Protection
Theguardians. N.p., 5 October 2014. Web. 18 September 2015.
Dewast, Louise. Marchers Protests Against Poaching of Elephants, Rhino ABC
NEWS. 4 October 2014. Web. 18 September 2015.
R. Platt, John. What Happens When Forest Elephants Are Wiped Out In the
Ecosystem Scientific American. 1 March 2014. Web. 18 September 2015.
Rhino Extinction Would Impact Other Species Project: African Rhino. N. p.,
N.d.Web. 18 September. 2015.
How The Current Mass Extinction of Animals Threaten Humans National
Geographic. N. p., 20 august 2014. 28 September 2015
Illegal Wildlife Trade World Wild Life. N. p., N.d. Web. 28 September 2015