A female African elephant (Loxodonta africana) at the Toronto Zoo.

Though elephants aren't my favourite animals, there is no denying their unique beauty. It is almost as is they were scooped up lumps of mud, molded in to bizarre shapes, dried and given life, their forms becoming landscapes of their own. Indeed, it isn't much of a stretch: they are very much a part of the landscape where they live and the landscape is part of them.

As tough as these animals are, they are still under incredible threats in much of their range. The trade in ivory remains a booming business, part of the illegal wildlife trade which is only behind guns and drugs as the most lucrative international criminal industry. The reason ivory sells is because there is a demand for it... so, if you come across someone selling ivory or other products illegally obtained from wildlife, don't buy them. Otherwise, populations of elephants will continue to crumble and scatter like dust in the wind.

As WildAid says, "When the buying stops, the killing can too". For more information, please visit http://www.wildaid.org