Biodiversity
Elephants both in Asia and Africa eat abundant amounts of fruit when available: seeds pass through their guts, and after expelled (sometimes tens of miles down the trail) sprouts a new plant if conditions are right. This process is known by ecologists as 'seed dispersal', and scientists have long studied the 'gardening' capacities of monkeys, birds, bats, and rodents. (http://news.mongabay.com)
Human Activity
Elephants are a keystone species. It means they create and maintain the ecosystems, in which they live and make it possible for a myriad of plant and animal species to live in those environments as well. The loss of elephants really affects many species that depend on elephant-maintained ecosystems, and causes major habitat chaos and a weakening to the structure and diversity of nature itself. To lose the elephant is to lose an environmental caretaker, and an animal from which we have much to learn. (http://worldelephantday.org)