Celebrate Save the Elephants Day Every April 16

• By NSC
• 2 Comments.

 

 

Elephants are magnificent, gentle, and much-loved animals. But they’re in danger in their native habitats. Save the Elephants Day is a day to raise awareness of the threats they face and pledge to help protect them.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of endangered animals includes both the Asian Elephant and the African Elephant.

The Asian elephant is listed as Endangered, with its population still declining. The African elephant has a slightly brighter outlook. It was upgraded from Endangered to Vulnerable, and its population is increasing.

But both elephants still need our help.

There’s other days dedicated to the elephants too:

• World Elephant Day, celebrated August 12
• Elephant Appreciation Day, on September 22

 

Let’s start showing our love and appreciation for elephants by making sure they have places to live & food to eat. And by stopping the killing.

 

Threats to Elephants

In just the past 100 years the number of Asian elephants has declined by 90%. In some areas African elephant populations have also declined by that much. That means for every 100 elephants living in an area in the early 1900s, there are only 10 there today.

Why?

Well, sadly humans shoulder a lot of the blame. We’ve destroyed a lot of their natural habitat. And these big animals need a lot of space. And a lot of food. They eat hundreds of pounds of food every day.

Elephants are herbivores (they eat only plants), so without lots of plants, they can’t get enough food.

By destroying their habitats, we make them compete with us for smaller and smaller bits of land and food.

Elephant Family and other conservation groups have been working hard to protect the Asian elephant’s habitat and create elephant corridors to connect habitats together.

And although these efforts are focused on saving the elephant, success would also be good for all other animals that live there. Leaving big forest areas undisturbed means more plant diversity, too.

So in case you’re wondering if the elephants are really worth saving (they are), stop and think about all the life in the forests. Protecting the elephants’ habitat protects it all. Including humans and their ability to enjoy those same forests.

Poaching, especially for their tusks, has contributed to the decline in elephant populations too. A 2015 CNN story about the war on poaching in Zakouma, Chad notes that poaching nearly wiped out the country’s elephants, reducing them from some 50,000 to maybe about 1,000 in only 50 years. Some 450 elephants live in the Zakouma National Park today.

Bans on the import/export of ivory has lessened the value of this activity to poachers. But it hasn’t stopped it completely.

Scroll down for some ideas on observing this unofficial holiday.

---

---

 

Observing Save the Elephants Day

One important and simple thing we can all do is spread the word. Conservationists are making progress in the fight to save the elephants. But they can use all the help they can get.

The Elephant Nature Park is a sanctuary and rescue center for elephants in Chiang Mai province, Northern Thailand. Along with providing a home for elephants, the park works to restore rain forests and educate visitors about endangered species.

The park offers a page of ways you can help their elephants.

Follow Elephant Family on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about efforts to save the elephants. Remember to share their posts, too!

If you can, donate to a conservation organization. Some organizations to consider:

Please note that we have not fully checked out any of these. Always do your own due diligence before donating to ensure they’re using your donations the way you want them used.

• International Elephant Foundation
• Elephant Family; working to protect Asian elephants.
• Elephant Conservation Center; working to protect Asian elephants in Laos.
• The WWF; works to protect many different species of wildlife, including both the Asian and African elephants.
• Save Elephant Foundation; supports the Elephant Nature Park and other projects.
• Wildlife Without Borders; A project of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, funding protection for many species around the world. You can choose which animals your donation helps.

 

You could also sponsor an elephant through the Elephant Conservation Center.

Get your kids involved, too. Earth’s Kids’ Elephants page is a great place to start. There’s also a page on how kids can help the animals. All animals, not just elephants.

How will you be celebrating Save the Elephants Day?

 

GoogleAd-NSC-Bottom (text-3)