Featured in New 96 Elephants Video

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA-Cl75jNuA

Audio clip, recorded by Cornell University scientists, captures moment when elephant is shot by poachers

Video is part of WCS’s 96 Elephants campaign – 96 elephants are killed every day by poachers Newswise — NEW YORK (November 20, 2013) — The Wildlife Conservation Society released a powerful video today that features shocking audio of an elephant being shot and killed by ivory poachers in Central Africa. The video is part of WCS’s 96 Elephants campaign – named for the number of elephants gunned down by poachers every day.

The low-frequency recording, taken in Gabon in Central Africa, was made by scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Elephant Listening Project studying low frequency communication of elephants using remote devices left in the field then retrieved and analyzed months later. Gabon’s National Parks Agency (ANPN) is a partner on the project.

The 60-second video opens on a black screen with text that fades up: This is the sound of an elephant fleeing an armed poacher as it is shot repeatedly in the forests of Central Africa. As the audio begins, a running counter appears: How long can you listen? The black backdrop slowly fades to the image of a fallen elephant. Text fades up while the counter keeps running: 35,000 elephants were killed in Africa in 2012. That’s 96 elephants killed everyday. You can make it stop. 96elephants.org

WCS’s 96 Elephants campaign amplifies and supports the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitment to save Africa’s elephants announced in September. The WCS campaign focuses on: securing effective U.S. moratorium laws; bolstering elephant protection with additional funding; and educating the public about the link between ivory consumption and the elephant poaching crisis.

Throughout Africa, elephant numbers have plummeted by 76 percent since 1980 due largely to the demand of elephant ivory with an estimated 35,000 slaughtered by poachers in 2012 alone.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit www.wcs.org.###The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit www.wcs.org.

Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide your readers or viewers to a Web link where they can make donations in support of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to wcs.org.

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