A Journey of Art and Soul for the Earth
by Rama the Elephant and Calley O'Neill
RAMA: AMBASSADOR FOR THE ENDANGERED ONES
Speaking Passionately on Behalf of Those who Cannot Speak
April Fool: The Birth of Rama
by Rama and Calley O'Neill with Jeb Barsh
The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) has been listed as endangered (CITES1) since 1986 due to habitat losses and poaching for the ivory trade. There are many conservation efforts under way, and elephants are protected internationally against poaching. Elephants are keystone species, vital to the long-term survival of the ecosystems in which they live. Eighty percent of what they consume is returned to the soil as barely digested highly fertile manure. In Africa, one third of all tree species depend on African elephants to digest their seeds in order to trigger germination. As they move about, elephants open up the forest's understory to light, and create firebreaks and rainwater conduits.
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