The illegal ivory trade drives elephant poaching, causing suffering and death for thousands of elephants annually across Africa and Asia.
Poaching kills elephants through poisoned arrows that cause systemic organ failure over days, cyanide poisoning, and gunshots that may not kill immediately. Surviving calves witness their mothers' deaths and suffer from the trauma of witnessing violence and experiencing sudden loss. The social disruption of poaching breaks apart family groups that have maintained structure over decades, causing long-term behavioral abnormality.