endangered species

GOOD TO KNOW African and Asian elephants are now endangered species. Elephants have been slaughtered in past centuries solely for their tusks, which are made of highly prized ivory. In the 1900s the wild elephant population stood at 5 million to 10 million; by 1979 hunting and habitat destruction had reduced it to 1.3 million. In the ten years between 1979 and 1989, the collapse of oil prices generated pursuit of other moneymaking ventures, and an estimated 600,000 African elephants—almost half the population—were slaughtered for ivory. In June 1989 the United States banned all ivory imports, with other nations adopting similar bans soon thereafter. Under the African Elephant Conservation Act, the United States established a program to award up to $5 million a year for projects to help stop the killing of elephants in Africa. Even with such protective measures in place, ivory poaching remains a major threat. Same sh..... for the crocodile...