Tusks

I was struck by the haunting image of elephant and rhino tusks in the back of a truck. The animals were savagely slaughtered and the tusks removed by poachers. The tusk’s ivory funds terrorist groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army. I was saddened to see how heartless these groups are, and how they view animals as worthless, save for their monetary value. In my remix, I replaced the tusks with green “branches.” I added blue sky, and beams of green light (dark and light green) to symbolize sunlight, but also to symbolize light shining on the issue of poaching. Hopefully with enough awareness, and also new technology which tracks poachers, this atrocious practice will one day be eliminated.

Remixed by Nancy Merrifield

Original Image Citation: Photo by: Brent Shirton, National Geographic, September 2015