Platt, J. (2014, October 8,0. Elephants are Worth 76 Times More Alive Than Dead: Report. Retrieved August 15, 2015, from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/elephants-are-worth-76-times-more-alive-than-dead-report/
Elephant tusks sell for a high price in the black market however, people are now wondering it that is making more money than if tourists were to pay to come see elephants. In 2014 17.8 metric tons of ivory were shipped illegally worldwide to make a profit but this is probably only a small portion of ivory being shipped. Although there are some elephants, which aren’t accessible to the public, there are still others where people can visit to help the cause. Tourists will not only decrease the number of ivory being shipped they will also cause the price of an elephant’s life to increase. This will mean that it is more valuable for an elephant to live than die, which is what the iWorry Ivory awareness campaign is trying to make known.
Ecotourism is saving the lives of elephants because it is increasing the worth of their lives. Not only will the elephants benefit from tourism but also the local economy. Every ivory tusk being sold usually correlates to the amount of elephants dying which is a significant number. The amount of ivory being sold of the black market is slowly decreasing as elephants become more popular and more endangered. In order for the price of ivory to decrease more people need to travel to visit elephants.
This was a really interesting article. I wonder whether there are any costs from more ecotourists though (i.e. destruction of habitat in order to build hotels, increased C02 from more planes/vehicles, etc). Maybe we could emulate what the people in Namibia did (part of that video/TED talk we watched on Friday) and recruit the poachers to help track and protect these animals, instead of killing them.
It’s amazing to see how in cases like these ecotourism can save species from extinction. I think it’s interesting how these statistics have shown that species such as elephants are more valuable than their killing them and using the resources. With information like this, positive tourism could spread positively to help various species.
Its upsetting that humans truly fail to appreciate the aesthetic value in life and animals ; only economical benefits stop us from hunting this animal because of ecotourism. However, I do think that the concept of ecotourism is very important and crucial to the survival of endangered species.