03/10/2016 Newsround

Hello Newsrounders, welcome to Johannesburg in South Africa.

I'm here because thousands of elephants are being illegally

killed every year across Africa for their ivory tusks.

And I've spent the last week finding out why elephants are so important

and what is being done to stop that happening.

The biggest ever meeting of the worlds countries to talk

about how to protect wildlife is happening here.

And last night they agreed to call for a ban on the buying

The killing of elephants is a massive problem here in Africa

Elephants are some of the most famous and most loved animals on the

planet and today they are walking a road to extinction.

This counted and recorded the number of Elle fans and where they live.

They used a plane to fly across 18 African countries from Mali in the

west to South Africa where I am now. The results were shocking. In seven

years, one in three of Africa's elephants has disappeared. Elephants

without borders, a group involved in the census say 30,000 are being

killed a year and since 2007, Africa's lost 144,000 because of

poaching. That's when they're imlegally hunted

and killed for their tusks which can be sold around the world for huge

amounts of money as part of the Ivory trade -- illegally. They are

being killed faster than new elephants are being born and unless

something is done to stop Ivory poaching, there is a fear Elle fans

could die out within our lifetime. This is where it gets confusing.

Countries selling Ivory to each other isn't allowed, but buying and

selling old Ivory like antiques is still allowed in some countries. But

the illegal Ivory trade's not stopped. Poachers are still killing

elephants for their tusks and the Ivory is still being sent around the

world by networks of criminalsmost lick to places like China and

Vietnam where they can be carved into jewellery or ornaments. There

are different opinions as to whether the trade should be allowed. Some

countries say they should be allowed to sell Ivory to raise money for

elephants. Many other countries say the only way to stamp out poaching

is to ban the trade on Ivory completely.

Campaigners say this call for a ban on all ivory trading is a big

step forward in stopping elephants being poached.

But this ban would only apply if countries choose to follow it.

Finding ways to protect elephants has been really

So what makes these amazing creatures so cool.

Here's 11 things you might not know about them.

There are only two types, African and Asian. Female Asian Elle fans

don't have tusks. Elle fans can be left tusked or

right tusked like being left or right handed.

-- a newborn elephant weighs more than 200 pounds, about 30 human

babies. Elephants have eye lashes. The

African elephant is the world's largest land animal.

Adult elephants cannot jump. They don't like bees.

An elephant's trump has more muscles than the whole human body put

together. Elephants can get sun burn. They use

sand or mud to protect themselves. Elephants are pregnant for 22

months, almost two years! How amazing are these animals? !

There's loads more online; take a look at our guide about elephants

and the ivory trade and test yourself with our elephant quiz.

Make sure you're watching Newsround tomorrow to find out what you tell

And we put your elephant questions to school kids in South Africa.

From the team in Johannesburg, have a brilliant evening.