World Elephant Day

Happy World Elephant Day!

Posted in: News

Tags: Conservation

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What would the world be like without the majestic elephant?

This is a question we hope never to answer and the motivation behind World Elephant Day. Since its inception five years ago, this special day has been used to rally the world around elephant conservation.

As you may know, elephants face unprecedented challenges in the wilds of Africa and southeast Asia. Like so many species, they are struggling to acclimate to a world of increasing habitat loss and degradation. But elephants face an even bigger challenge. For centuries cultures across the globe have valued elephant tusks. We’ve used them as ornamentation in everything from silverware handles to the piano keys. In fact, that’s why when we play the piano, we “tickle the ivories”.

In the past several decades’ global demand for ivory has skyrocketed and ivory prices have risen accordingly. These sky-high prices led us directly to an untenable poaching crisis. One so dire that we lose four elephants to poacher’s guns every hour of every day. While roughly 400,000 elephants remain in the wilds of Africa (and another 35,000 of their Asian cousins) they simply cannot reproduce fast enough to counter these losses.

To celebrate World Elephant Day, organization around the globe hold “elevents” to raise awareness and funds for the conservation of these massive creatures. Although Safari West houses no elephants, we still work hard to do our part in conserving this vulnerable species. If you would like to make a donation toward elephant conservation in honor of World Elephant Day, please consider our partners at the Wildlife Conservation Network. They do critically important work around the globe.

Thank you for supporting the majestic elephant and the important role they play in our global ecosystem and a very happy World Elephant Day from all of us at Safari West!