Did you know that an elephant is killed every 15 minutes?

For its ivory. And, apparently, the United States of America is a close second to China in the illegal ivory trade on the black market.

This is despicable! This is a wake-up call. It was brought to my attention this morning, because Leonardo DiCaprio (and Jane Goodall and Dave Matthews, among many other conservationists) recently wrote an open letter to President Obama regarding elephants and their imminent threat of extinction in the wild. At the rate they’re currently being slaughtered, it’s predicted that there will be no more wild elephants in 10 years.

To paraphrase Dr. Seuss’ moral from The Lorax, unless we—conscious and conscientious and caring and compassionate—humans do something to change it, this situation won’t change.

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Editor: Travis May

Photo: Pixoto, Infographic: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)