African elephants - Research Paper Example

African elephants This paper will seek to analyze the validity of a media report on the decreasing number of Elephants in the African continent. It will discuss a news report done by the BBC news (science and environment segment) which was retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28854259 on 22nd March 2015. The validity of the report will be evaluated with reference to a scientific journal on the same issue retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140819155226.

htm on 22nd March 2015. According to the BBC news, the population of African elephants had declined to a critical point. They claimed that more than thirty-five thousand elephants were killed for ivory each year (Morelle retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28854259). The report argued that if this rate of poaching persisted, the elephant population in Africa would be wiped out in a period of one hundred years. BBC reporter, Rebecca Morelle added that the primary cause of the increased elephant poaching was the growing demand for ivory products on the Asian continent (Morelle retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28854259).

According to the scientific journal, the population of elephants was decreasing at an annual rate of 2% and hence it would take about fifty years for the African elephants to be extinct (Wittemyer et al.13118). Research by the Journal claimed that poaching had increased due to quadrupling of the local ivory prices. The study specified that the main market for the ivory was in China. The Journal also claims that the growth rate of poaching has increased from 25% annually to around 70% annually (Wittemyer et al.13119). Analysis The report by BBC news was not accurate.

The percentages and estimated figures did not match those of the actual researchers who wrote the scientific journal. Moreover, the media did not acknowledge the researchers and hence one can assume the research was done by the BBC crew. The media report lacked specificity. For example, they claimed that the main market for the ivory was in Asia while the journal was more specific. Works Cited Morelle, Rebecca. "Africas Elephant Population Reaches Tipping Point." BBC News. BBC News, 19 Aug. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.

Wittemyer, George et al. "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences." Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants 111.36 (2014): 13117–13121.DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1403984111. Web. 22 Mar. 2015.