Ivory Coast had in 1960 twenty million hectares of forest, but today we have less than two million hectares of forest, exactly one million five hundred hectares left. This great deforestation in Ivory Coast is at the source of the disappearance of some species and also this is what is endangering some species.

This article will focus on the Rhino and elephant species in Ivory Coast. Our country is even called the land of elephants due the numerous elephants we had. Even our national football team is called elephant. But, this specy which was our pride some years ago is cannot easily be found today. Of course, elephants do not live in the forest, but even in the savannah, they are pertubated by bush fires, extensive crops, and illegal hunting of ivory.

Concerning the Rhino, it is quasi-impossible to find them. Some few months ago, only one old Rhino was found in the national park of Tai in the west of Ivory Coast. Due to the insecurity of that park, the rhino was taken to the zoo of Abidjan. That is to say, our zoo did not have any rhino for long years now. These two species are becoming very rare and it is now time to take urgent actions.

The first responsibility falls on the  government which should  create a special agency to start monitoring all endangered and rare species. It is also important that the United Nations environmental Program uses its expertise to collaborate with the government, and also engage young environmentalists in this task by equipping them with skills and information.