05/10/2016 Newsround

I'm Leah and you're live with Newsround on CBBC.

Today is the last day of the biggest ever meeting

of the world's countries to talk about protecting wildlife.

Jenny is in South Africa, where it's taking place.

Yes, there's been a lot of attention paid at this huge meeting

That's because thousands of them are being killed every year

Last week I went to meet some people who protect elephants and to see

This is the environment experts say they need,

who can be dangerous to them in many ways.

These beautiful elephants were not so easy to find.

I have come to the north-east of South Africa, far away from the big

cities and home to the famous Kruger National Park.

We are setting off this morning for a game of hide and

seek with a safari guide and a car and we have to be very patient,

It is a massive area where South Africa's wild animals

But strangely no sign of the one creature we had come looking for.

We are back at the camp now and we have been out all day

long and we have seen loads of animals, giraffes, lions, buffalo,

warthog, even crocodiles, but no elephants.

Getting so close to incredible elephants like this is

one of the most important ways South Africa believes

It gives people a thrill and helps them really understand how nature

For me, personally, elephants play a big role in the

ecosystem, especially clearing thick bush and as they walk with their big

bodies they clear pathways and make the bush more open.

It is a really good example where you can see elephants

de-barking a tree and you can see a beautiful tusk mark,

and how they use the tusks to take off the bark.

This will fall down eventually and create a whole new

ecosystem for a lot of other animals.

One of the ways people hope to stop the illegal hunting and

killing of elephants is to catch the people

They are trained to snaffle out trouble and catch poachers.

Once they are experts these dogs will be sent out on patrol

to protect animals in the wild or find stolen ivory.

The poaching problem in Africa as a whole is huge.

It is all over Africa and elephant populations are suffering big time

but the use of these working canines, working dogs,

the poachers know we can track them and we will indicate the presence

Without anti-poaching efforts in Africa we will lose all

of our wildlife, never mind just the elephant

which is getting hammered now, but we will lose everything.

Anti-poachers and rangers together hope to stop the crisis and keep

these awesome creatures around for generations to come.

Jenny, today is the last day of this big wildlife meeting,

Well, a huge amount has been decided during this conference.

183 of the world's countries are here to talk about

Everyone wants to help elephants and to stop poaching,

but they don't all agree about the best way to do it.

One suggestion to put all elephants in the top group of protected

animals didn't happen, as most countries didn't think

But one big announcement was a call for a ban on the buying

and selling of all ivory, not just between countries,

Countries don't have to obey that, but elephant charities are really

And that ban, Jen, is what Prince William called

for just before the meeting started, isn't it?

It's something he's spoken about often.

I asked Naomi Doak who works with Prince William's charity

The Royal Foundation why it was so important?

I think it sends a really clear message to everybody that the world

is not really OK with ivory trade anymore. We are in a crisis and

these things can't be traded or bought and sold. Importantly it also

sends a message to those that buy that the rest of the world is kind

of the point where they think it is not acceptable.

So some progress has been made in protecting

these amazing creatures, but getting everyone to agree

on the right way to save elephants and stop poaching isn't easy.

In other news, the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean

in nearly ten years has battered the country of Haiti.

Hurricane Matthew brought winds of 145 miles per hour and heavy

rain, leading to floods and worries of mudslides.

Roads have been blocked and homes have been destroyed, with thousands

Haiti is one of the world's poorest countries, and is still

recovering from a huge earthquake six years ago.

That's all from me, Newsround's back on CBBC this afternoon at 4.20pm.