Celebrate World Elephant Day Every August 12

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Happy World Elephant Day! August 12 is a day dedicated to the world’s elephants who need our protection and help to avoid going extinct.

The day joins Save the Elephants Day to help spread awareness of the elephant’s vulnerability and encourage people to join the cause.

Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation founded World Elephant Day in 2012. So it’s a pretty new day, but it’s already a popular one. More than 65 wildlife organizations (and lots of individuals) support the day.

Will you be one of them?

 

About Elephants

African and Asian elephants are in danger of extinction and need our help.

The Asian elephants are in the most trouble. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of endangered animals lists the Asian elephant as Endangered. And their population is still declining.

African elephants are listed as Vulnerable. Their populations have increased a bit recently, but they still have a long way to go to be safe. Any setback could put them back in the endangered category.

Why are elephants in trouble? Largely because humans:

• Destroy their habitat
• Kill them for their ivory
• Capture wild animals to put in zoos or to use in circuses and the tourism industry

 

Under normal conditions, elephants wander a home range of several hundred square miles. But when we destroy their homes, we also restrict the amount of space they have.

And humans still love their ivory. It’s estimated that about 35,000 African elephants are killed each year. Many countries have banned ivory imports and/or exports. But it’s not enough. The poaching continues (from 2015). Wildlife and animal welfare organizations also continue their work, coming up with new partnerships and programs to stop the poaching.

Elephants are smart, social animals that deserve our compassion. They recognize each other, and they greet others they haven’t seen in a while by trumpeting, flapping their ears, and entwining their trunks, along with other displays of affection.

They also:

• Mourn the death of their family members
• Celebrate births
• Play and socialize with their family members
• Explore their surroundings
• Recognize themselves in a mirror

 

In these ways they are very much like us. So why do we kill them for their tusks and chain them up for our entertainment?

We can’t think of a good answer to that. But we hope that World Elephant Day can help spread awareness of how special these animals are. And encourage people to protect them, instead of destroy them.

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial conservation holiday.

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Ideas to Celebrate World Elephant Day

Spend some time on this day learning more about elephants and the threats they face. Then share what you’ve learned with family and friends.

Learn about the Wildlife Conservation Society’s 96 Elephants campaign. The campaign is named for the fact that an estimated 96 elephants are killed every day in Africa.

Learn how the Nature Conservancy is working to keep spaces open for the elephants. Follow its Facebook page too.

Consider donating to an elephant protection initiative:

(Remember: We don’t recommend any specific charities. We only let you know about some you might be interested in. It’s up to you to decide if they use donations in ways you support.)

• The Nature Conservancy’s Elephant Protection Fund
• Save Elephant Foundation
• International Elephant Foundation
• Sponsor an elephant through the Elephant Conservation Center

 

And finally, watch this adorable baby elephant chase birds in Kruger National Park.

 

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