第1354篇·象牙 | Elephant Tusk

自古大象在中国南北方均有分布，而今天仅存的数百只亚洲象已被我们逼进了云南的西双版纳。三四千年前的夏末商初时期，中华象悠闲地生活在中原，黄河流域大象频繁出没，目前出土的大象遗骸证据最北与北京同纬度，可见上古传说的大禹役象绝非空穴来风。所以，河南简称豫，而豫州处在华夏九州之中心，豫字本身的意思为“象之大者”。
象有两只硕大无比的牙，因其漂亮，招来杀身之祸，《左传》就有“象有齿以焚其身”之句，说出了人与动物之间的利与害。可怜大象这种人类可见的最大陆生哺乳动物，在人类的无知和贪婪之下，四十年前已成为濒危动物，如果再有疏忽，这个可爱的物种随时可在我们眼前永久的消逝。
今天肯尼亚将它近年捕获的105吨偷猎象牙付之一炬，向世人昭示大象的艰难处境与全球及国际野生救援组织的决心；堆积如山的象牙触目惊心，焚烧前阴云密布与大雨滂沱似乎也是天意，阴云是人类心头的恐惧，大雨是大象悲愤的眼泪；同为这个星球上的共生的物种，我们要珍惜自己，必须先珍视对方。
2012－2014这三年中，有10万只大象惨遭杀戮，按此速率，目前全世界40万只大象十几年内即可灭亡，而此次焚毁的105吨象牙仅来自不到7000只大象。国际组织调查象牙流向，结果是近90%流向中国，因为中产阶级的每一次兴起都是象牙需求的契机；英国维多利亚时代，日本经济腾飞之际，都遇到过这个问题，这次是我们。在全球环保意识觉醒的今天，作为知历史知未来的文明人，我们都应该参与救助大象的队伍之中，从自己做起，牢记那句警世名言：没有买卖，就没有杀害！
我作为野生救援公益大使写此文呼吁保护大象责无旁贷。
2016.4.30夜
Elephant Tusk
In the past, there were elephants living as far north as northern China. Now the 100 or so elephants remaining in China are confined to the far southern border in Yunnan. Three thousand years ago in the Xia and Shang dynasties elephants roamed the areas around the Yellow River, with their bones being discovered at latitudes as far north as Beijing. The abbreviation character for Henan province (豫) contains the character for elephant (象) because of this.
Elephants have two large, beautiful tusks, which has led to their downfall throughout the ages. As the largest terrestrial mammal on Earth, elephants have become an endangered species in just 40 years due to our fervent demand for ivory. If we don’t do anything now, wild elephants might disappear forever.
Recently Kenya set flames to 105 tones of ivory, helping to expose to the world the plight of elephants as well as the resolve of the international community to put an end to this slaughter. These mountains of tusks were set aflame producing dark plumes of smoke, as if to symbolize the horror of what’s happening to the elephants. While the heavy rains that day in Nairobi symbolized their exasperated tears.
In just three years between 2012 and 2014 there have been an estimated 100,000 killed for their ivory. At this rate we could lose elephants in just 10 years. The 105 tones of ivory today represented almost 7,000 elephants. Investigations from international groups have shown that nearly 90% of the illegal ivory is destined for China. Throughout history, from Victorian England to Japan in the 80’s, the rise of the middle class has spelled trouble for elephants. Now the problem is with us in China. We need to join this awakening of an environmental consciousness and join the fight to help protect elephants. It all starts with the simple concept “when the buying stops, the killing can too”.
These words above are part of my effort as a WildAid ambassador to motivate more people to care about these incredible animals and work for their protection.
by Weidu Ma
April 30th 2016








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