Prince William leads call to save the African elephant for kids as he fears they will be extinct before Charlotte turns 25
Population has shrunk from one million in 1982 to just 350,000
PRINCE William fears the African elephant will be extinct within 25 years.
In a speech yesterday he said their numbers had shrunk from one million when he was born in 1982 to just 350,000 when his daughter arrived last year.
The Duke of Cambridge said: ""By the time my daughter Charlotte was born last year, the numbers of Savannah elephants had crashed to just 350,000.
"At the current pace of illegal poaching, when Charlotte turns 25 the African elephant will be gone from the wild."
He also told the Time For Change event at The Shard, South London, he was “not prepared to be part of a generation that lets these iconic species disappear from the wild”.
Wills, 34, is patron of charity Tusk, which hosted the meeting.
He added that rhinos face extinction in “our lifetimes”.
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Wills said it is now time to send an "unambiguous message" that it is NOT acceptable to buy or sell ivory.
He said: "We have the chance to say that rhino horn does not cure anything and does not need a legal market."
Tusk has raised more than £30million for projects in Africa. Princes William and Harry toured Botswana in 2010 to visit the charity's projects.
Currently, one African elephant is killed every 15 minutes.
The illegal wildlife trade is thought to be worth up to $20billion each year and has wiped out many species in Africa.
It is also recognised as the fourth largest transnational crime, after drugs, arms and human trafficking.