The vulnerable animals of the African Savannah have their supporters in the Bega Valley.
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On Saturday, a local march – or mill around – was held in Tathra to support the Global March for Elephants, Rhinos and Lions that took place on the same day in 136 cities across the world.
The march was to help raise awareness of how these animals are possibly being forced into extinction in the wild.
According to ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service George Malolakis, there has been a 30 per cent reduction in elephants in Africa from 2007-2014, with around 350,000 left in the wild.
Jane Gordon, who has written the screenplay for a film called The Elephant Whisperer that will be made in South Africa, said she organised the march as she wanted to help the animals in some way.
“If the slaughter of elephants continues with nearly 100 elephants killed for their tusks each day they will be extinct within 10 to 15 years,” she said.
Those involved in the global march were urging governments and decision-making bodies to eradicate all trade in ivory and rhino horn and to better protect these species from the threat of extinction.
“A lot of African countries have massive amounts of illegal ivory stockpiled and want to sell it to help with conservation,” Mr Malolakis said.
“But there was a one-off sale of ivory in the early 2000s that resulted in a massive spike in illegal trade.”
He said rhino horn is now more expensive than gold and in China ivory can fetch $4000 USD for a kilo.
“A lot of the ivory sold in legal shops in China comes from illegal sources,” he said.
Through the sale of bags and t-shirts $130 was raised at the march in Tathra.
It is enough to adopt an orphan elephant from the David Sheldrick Centre in Kenya and purchase an acre of land in South Africa to help increase the corridor for elephants to move.
The proceeds of bags and t-shirts on sale from Blend in Tathra will support rangers trying to protect wildlife in Tanzania.