“The 18 elephants — three males and 15 females ranging in age from six to 25 — were sedated, loaded onto crates and placed on a large cargo plane that arrived in Swaziland.” A few U.S. zoos secretly flew 18 elephants out of Swaziland ahead of court challenge. This controversy is part of much bigger story. The very real threat that elephants could “vanish from the Earth” in our lifetimes.