John,

The biggest, oldest elephants in Tanzania are being murdered for sport, with rich hunters from the US and Europe paying tens of thousands of dollars to get to shoot them in cold blood.

Elephants are highly social animals. They've been known to mourn their fallen family members, crying over their bones. These are their grandparents and great-grandparents being killed just for fun.

A debate is raging about whether or not this is good for conservation but these are individual beings with internal and family lives, personalities, and thoughts. We shouldn't kill them for sport, period. Yet Tanzania’s government wants to hand out more permits.

Outrage is mounting, but we can help push it over the top and get this elephant killing banned for good – join in:

Tell Tanzania’s government: Stop the killing – protect the elephants.

Super tuskers are huge, old bulls with tusks that weigh up to 45 kg each. They play a unique role within the complex social structure of an elephant family, often serving as leaders and mentors to other bulls.

Some conservationists say controlled, regulated hunting can actually contribute to elephants’ long-term survival by providing jobs for local people and incentives for habitats to be preserved. But killing these unique, irreplaceable elephant “grandparents” would mean the loss of one of the last “super tusker” genes – and an incredible amount of insight on elephants and their social, emotional lives.

This specific population on the border with Kenya has been protected and studied for over 30 years, which allowed them to grow these incredible tusks. If Tanzania suddenly sells these majestic animals to the highest bidder, the whole population would be at risk.

But we still have time to influence the decision: Let’s show Tanzania’s President that the whole world is watching – we won’t let rich trophy hunters kill the last super tuskers for sport!

Tell Tanzania’s President: Stop the hunt – protect the super tuskers!