Tomorrow is World Elephant Day!

August 12, 2014, is the third annual World Elephant Day, a day when people come together to honor elephants, to spread awareness about the critical threats they are facing, and to support positive solutions that will help ensure their survival. Within our lifetimes, elephants may face global extinction in the wild. World Elephant Day was launched on August 12, 2012, by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and Canadian documentary filmmaker Patricia Sims.

The survival odds for the world’s elephants are increasingly grim. During the past four years, poaching for ivory has surged to unprecedented levels. It is estimated that 100 African elephants are slaughtered daily for the illegal wildlife trade. According to a June 2014 report by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), 20 percent of Africa’s elephants may be killed in the next ten years if poaching continues at current levels. Others believe thatall African elephants may be extinct in the wild by 2025. It is estimated that fewer than 400,000 African elephants remain. There are less than 40,000 Asian elephants left in the world, making their official status “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List. Asian elephants face extensive loss of habitat, and are also killed for their ivory, meat, and body parts, while young elephants are removed from their natural environment for use in the tourism industry.

World Elephant Day supporters can act in a multitude of ways, both locally and globally, to help protect elephants from the devastating impacts of poaching, the destruction of wilderness, the demand for ivory, human population growth and human-elephant conflict, and the social, economic, and environmental factors that fuel this tragic situation.

World Elephant Day encourages individuals and organizations worldwide to take action, spread awareness, and share effective ways to help save and protect elephants, and support the many commendable elephant conservation initiatives.