Killing African elephants for their ivory is devastating the species. In 1979, the elephant population in Africa was approximately 1.3 million. Today, there are fewer than a third of that number. What accounts for this dramatic decline? The primary cause is poaching. According to CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, at least 30,000 elephants were killed in Africa in 2012. That means that approximately one elephant is killed every fifteen minutes by poachers.
"One Every Fifteen Minutes: The Plight of the African Elephant" is a documentary film that examines the importance of elephants to their ecosystems, the new poaching epidemic, and the battle to save the elephants.