Thai Elephants And Students March In Silence For Australian Bushfires

Jan 16, 2020 by apost team

Massive wildfires that have been ravaging Australia since before Christmas 2019. As of mid-January 2020, the death toll stood at 29, and more than 2,200 homes had been lost. With regard to the loss of wildlife and livestock, emergency management officials estimate that more than a billion animals have been killed by fires, and large ecosystems are being lost at a harrowing pace. A troupe of elephants in Thailand has taken to the streets, joined by students, in a silent march in support for the animals lost in the fires.

Despite brave and monumental efforts by Australian firefighters and volunteers to save as many animals as possible, the loss has been devastating and it is bound to continue getting worse. People from around the world have been reacting in various ways. Many have sent financial donations to help koala rescue centers because these arboreal creatures cannot escape on their own.

School teachers all over the world are making sure that young students understand the magnitude of this tragedy, and in Thailand they recently held a unique vigil for all the animals that have been consumed by the flames along with their habitats, Reuters reports.

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A troupe of elephants guided by their mahouts in Ayutthaya, a historic city located north of Bangkok, marched outside of a palace that was once a royal court held by the Kingdom of Siam. Students from primary schools nearby left their classrooms and joined the silent march, which was organized for the purpose of praying for the animals besieged by the Australian bush fires.

Elephants are one of the various national symbols of Thailand. Students offered prayers in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, and they commented that the pachyderms were also sad because of what is happening to their cousins in Australia, Reuters continues.

The Royal Australian Air Force and bush pilot associations have been dropping vegetables down on forest areas where animals have either survived or found themselves trapped; the idea is to give them nourishment so that they have the energy to escape or sustenance to stay in place while firefighters continue to battle the widespread inferno, Yahoo! News reports. 

Meteorologists and weather scientists who have been following the fires agree that climate change has exacerbated the situation; temperatures have been warmer than usual, and the winds have been stronger than normal.

Do you believe that it is too late for us to do anything about climate change? Can we prevent or mitigate ecological disasters? Pass this story within your social media circles so that everyone is aware of this tragedy.