The first World Elephant Day was launched on August 12, 2012, to bring attention to the plight of elephants. Marked as a celebratory event for the loved, revered and respected animal by many people and cultures, World Elephant Day 2021 raises awareness about the threats and plight of the animal.
Elephants are beautiful, intelligent, and the largest existing land animals. There are currently three living species recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant.
Image: Avijan Saha
Out of these three species, African bush elephants and Asian elephants are listed as endangered. African forest elephants are labeled as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
World Elephant Day
First celebrated in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, it was official founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012.
Since then, Ms. Sims continues to lead, support and direct this event, which is now recognized and celebrated by over 100 wildlife organizations and many individuals across the globe.
Image: Frans Lanting
This international event aims to create awareness of the urgent and worrisome plight of African and Asian elephants and share knowledge and potential solutions for better care of captive and wild elephants.
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The occasion also focuses on the deteriorating elephant populations, fragmented habitat and poaching threats. The current population estimates for African elephants are about 400,000 individuals, while Asian elephants are estimated to be numbered at 40,000.
Plight of Elephants
Poaching and habitat loss are the major threats to these magnificent beasts. On average, over 35,000 elephants are killed by poachers and ivory traffickers every year in Africa. The tourism industry is highly cruel to the gentle giants.
Meanwhile, climate change and human land use are degrading wildlands, fragmenting essential elephant habitats and destroying ancient wildlife corridors. There are many predictions that elephants might go extinct within the next 15 years considering the present trends toward the animal.
Image: Ola Jennersten/WWF-Sweden
The World Elephant Day aims to shed light on some of these issues and implores humankind to enjoy the majestic beauty of elephants in non-exploitive and sustainable environments where the creatures can thrive.
On the occasion of World Elephant day 2021, here are some moving pictures of the majestic animal that walks the planet.
Elephants are highly social creatures and live in herds, ruled by matriarchy.
Image: Martin Harvey/WWF
These beautiful animals are hunted for ivory, which fetches an insurmountable price on the black market.
Image: WWF-Canon/Folke Wulf
Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth that continue growing throughout their lives and help feed and fight.
Image: Denis-Huot/WWF
Elephants love to play in mud and water, and are constantly eating.
Image: Jennifer Huxta/WWF-UK