Save the Elephant Day is celebrated globally on April 16 each year. It aims to bring attention to the plight of elephants, whose population has continued to decline significantly.
SAVE THE ELEPHANT DAY HISTORY
Elephants are the largest existing terrestrial animals and are distributed throughout Africa and Asia. Recent estimates place the number of elephants on the African continent at just over 400,000, and although the situation varies from country to country, it cannot be denied that the giant mammals are in decline on a continental scale. Human activities such as ivory poaching continue to be a major cause of the decline.
Save the Elephant Day aims to reverse this disturbing trend by educating the public about elephants and their plight and encouraging everyone to do their part to prevent the extinction of elephants.
Global organisations have collaborated to combat some of the most significant threats to elephant populations. The international commercial trade of ivory was prohibited in 1989. The member states of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) reached an agreement to prohibit the international ivory trade.
China, the largest ivory market in the world, demanded a ban on ivory sales within its borders in 2016. The U.K. Ivory Act 2018 received royal assent on December 20, 2018, after being passed by the British Parliament. In the future, the act may be expanded to include hippos, walruses, and narwhals.
Save the Elephant Day was founded in 2012 by the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand and Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims. “Return to the Forest,” a documentary film narrated by “Star Trek” actor William Shatner, was released in 2012 in conjunction with the launch of this global initiative.
Five essential facts about Elephants
Elephants contribute to the formation of ecosystems.
As a result of their importance to ecosystems, elephants are considered a keystone species.
Ears serve to distinguish species.
African elephants have much larger ears than their Asian counterparts.
Elephant tusks are teeth
Elephant tusks are enlarged incisor teeth that first appear at approximately two years of age.
Numerous African elephants have become extinct.
Due to the ivory trade, approximately 90 percent of African elephants have been wiped out in the previous century.
Elephants have extremely robust skin
In most places, an elephant’s skin is up to 1.6 inches thick.
SAVE THE ELEPHANT DAY DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | April 16 | Sunday |
| 2024 | April 16 | Tuesday |
| 2025 | April 16 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | April 16 | Thursday |
| 2027 | April 16 | Friday |
