An Afternoon with Elephants: Virtual Safari with founder of World Elephant Day Patricia Sims
It’s World Elephant Day and to celebrate you are invited on a virtual Kenya Safari!
Join Canadian Geographic, Vaya Adventures and award-winning documentary filmmaker, conservationist and Founder of World Elephant Day, Patricia Sims on Oct 3 at 10PST / 1pm EST. Learn how her film...Read More »
The World Elephant Day Tour of 2024
The excitement is in the air as we celebrate the 13th annual World Elephant Day!
Today, we come together to honour and protect the world’s most majestic creatures—elephants. This day represents more than just a date on the calendar; it’s a beacon of hope and a testament to what we can...Read More »
Be A Guardian of Giants on World Elephant Day 2023
World Elephant Day isn’t just a date on the calendar; it’s a symbol of hope, unity, and the extraordinary power of collective action. As the planet’s largest land mammals, elephants are not just architects of nature but also crucial to maintaining the delicate balance of our...Read More »
An Ivory Free Canada is Almost Here
Editor’s Note: World Elephant Day is part of the Ivory Free Canada Coalition; a group of organisations standing together to bring an end to the sale of elephant ivory in Canada. It is comprised of the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, Humane Society International, Rhino and Elephant...Read More »
The Elephant in the Hourglass: Reckoning and Hope Along the Himalaya
Written by Kim Frank
Our story begins at the foothills of eastern Himalaya, in a tightly packed landscape known as the “Chicken Neck of India’ where wild Asian elephants once roamed freely through dense forests and jungles, rich with nourishing food and water. Where local people lived in harmony with nature,...Read More »
Asian Elephant Genome, Chromosome to Chromosome
The landmark de-extinction genetic rescue effort guarantees the genetic preservation of the endangered Asian elephant for generations to come.
Colossal Biosciences, a breakthrough biosciences and genetic engineering company, and the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP) have become the first to successfully sequence the entire Asian elephant genome, introducing a new...Read More »
O Canada, We Stand to Ban Ivory
Written by Zara Diab, Edited by Anne Dillon
Wildlife crime leaves no country and no person unscathed, and with the recent update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species highlighting the growing urgency to save our elephants, our motivation to take action is clearer than ever. Now is the time...Read More »
Saving Elephants … to Save Ourselves By Lance Gould
By Lance Gould
Featured Photo Credit: Roger Aidong Luo
Wild Asian Elephants, Yunnan Province, SWChina
Human behavior is imperiling the planet — but we have some really, really big allies
Two environmental stories made news Monday, touching distinctly different emotional nerves. One was a feel-good story about a famous family of elephants heading...Read More »
Mara Elephant Project 2021 Update
Each year World Elephant Day features our Friends of World Elephant Day organizations, and the current work they are doing for the greater understanding and protection of elephants. Mara Elephant Project focuses on the wildlife, communities and habitat of the Maasai Mara. Please read below to learn more...Read More »
Elephant Exposé: Let’s Learn from Lucy
Lucy the elephant has long been a controversial subject between animal activists and Edmonton Valley Zoo staff. Recently, Jane Goodall switched her position to support the zoo’s, stating that moving Lucy to an Elephant sanctuary would pose a bigger risk to her life than keeping her where she is. Is...Read More »
Some Superheroes Have Tusks
Elephants are critical players in the fight against the climate crisis. We need them. But because of that *other* global crisis, they’re more vulnerable than ever. They need us, too.
By Lance Gould
World Elephant Day is, of course, a global celebration of the planet’s largest land mammal. But while humans on...Read More »
Elephants’ Uncertain Outlook
How a human pandemic is disrupting the lives of elephants
Written by Marguerite du Plessis
When the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in early 2020, industries slowed, livelihoods changed, and humans around the world became housebound. In doing so, we largely retreated from a century’s long expansion into natural habitats around the world,...Read More »
Elephanatics Helps Asian Elephants
World Elephant Day is very proud to announce that one of our Ivory Free Canada coalition partners, the Vancouver-based elephant advocacy organization Elephanatics, has generously assisted three Asian elephant sanctuaries in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Many sanctuaries are struggling to feed their elephants due to the shortage...Read More »
One Hundred and One Elephants
Written by Patricia Sims, Co-Founder, World Elephant Day
One hundred and one elephants.
That’s how many of these magnificent creatures have been translocated 1,700 kilometers from South Africa to Mozambique to date by the Moving Giants elephant conservation initiative, the longest such translocation by road ever attempted.
On World Elephant Day last year...Read More »
TYAGARAH - A Single & Video for World Elephant Day!
Elephant Sessions and Word Elephant Day release a single to raise funds for the charity on August the 9th 2019
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Elephant Sessions for the creation of the ‘Tyagarah’ video in support of World Elephant Day. Elephant Sessions is demonstrating their commitment...Read More »
Ivory Free Canada
Source: the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada
More than 400,000 have signed the petition asking for an end to the legal trade in elephant ivory.
Help us get to 500,000 by World Elephant Day on August 12!
www.change.org/IvoryFreeCanada
The ongoing slaughter of African elephants for their tusks has decimated elephant...Read More »
WORLD ELEPHANT DAY 2018 - THE ANNUAL REVIEW
Click to download the World Elephant Day 2018 Annual Review
Researched and Written by Anne Dillon
Communications Director, World Elephant Day
with Patricia Sims
Co-Founder, Executive Director, World Elephant Day
World Elephant Day 2018 is here, and, in keeping with tradition, we wanted to devote some time and attention to what’s...Read More »
Giants on the Move
Written by Patricia Sims, Co-Founder, World Elephant Day
Each year for World Elephant Day we put a lot of our elephant conservation attention toward the ivory poaching crisis threatening African elephants, and the tourism and captivity issues that the endangered Asian elephants face. Yet the larger conservation challenge of habitat loss...Read More »
How #WorldElephantDay helps elephants
Read how the #WorldElephantDay hashtag helps us help elephants
...Read More »The 2017 World Elephant Day Annual Review
What’s Up for Elephants
Founder’s Note:
This year marks our 6th Annual World Elephant Day campaign. We here at World Elephant Day are very proud of how the day has grown year after year after year. Our global media reach continues to blossom, signifying that our impact is ever-expanding —...Read More »
The Wildlife Conservation Society to Ring The Nasdaq Stock Market Closing Bell
In honor of World Elephant Day on August 12, Dr. Cristián Samper, President and CEO, Wildlife Conservation Society rang the Closing Bell.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, an organization committed to saving wildlife and wild places worldwide, visited the Nasdaq Market Site in Times Square in celebration of World Elephant Day.
“World Elephant...Read More »
Saving Myanmar's Elephants - Article by Ruth Powys
Please read this important article written by guest blogger Ruth Powys, about Myanmar’s endangered elephants.
Saving Myanmar’s Elephants
By Ruth Powys
While a boom in the illegal ivory market is threatening the world’s African elephants, their lesser-known cousins across Asia are silently facing a similar fate.
The illegal trade in animals and...Read More »
Human-Elephant Conflict - Guest Blog by Laurel Neme
If you’re looking for something to read in the six day count down to August 12th, enjoy World Elephant Day guest blogger Laurel Neme ‘s article on Human-Elephant Conflict, an issue often slightly less prominent in the public’s eye. Laurel describes in snapshots where humans...Read More »
The NY Ivory Crush - Nearly 2 tons of Ivory ...
… worth US$8 million means over 100 elephants killed!
Even One elephant is too much!
This ivory crush is so important and hopefully sends the right signal to the world to step up and stop this senseless killing out of greed.
...Read More »Only 10 days left until World Elephant Day!
Dear Friends and Associates,
We are looking forward to World Elephant Day 2017 and appreciate you being part of this annual celebration of the elephants on Saturday, August 12!
This year there are numerous public events around the globe on or near August 12. Two of...Read More »
Get Ready for World Elephant Day 2017!
Dear World Elephant Day Associates and Friends,
World Elephant Day 2017 is almost here and it’s time to rally the troops once again to bring the world together on August 12 to help elephants. It’s hard to believe that this is our sixth year of awareness-raising about the elephants and their...Read More »
What's Changed for Elephants 2016
Written by Anne Dillon, with Patricia Sims
It’s the fifth annual World Elephant Day. What’s happening in the elephant world, and has anything really changed for them? In 2012, the World Elephant Day campaign was created as a rallying point for elephant conservation organizations and individuals worldwide...Read More »
New Jersey Ivory Crush
Join us on World Elephant Day in Jersey City and support the enactment of a total and complete ivory sales ban worldwide, once and for all.
Speakers that will be taking the stage:
• German Ambassador Heiko Thoms
• David Gacheru, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Kenya Embassy
•...Read More »
William Shatner's Message for World Elephant Day 2016
William Shatner is a huge advocate for elephant conservation, and has been a supporter of World Elephant Day since its launch on August 12, 2012. Mr. Shatner is the narrator of the film “Return to the Forest”, which tells the story of the Read More »
Interview with World Elephant Day Co-Founder and When Elephants Were Young Director Patricia Sims
Purchase When Elephants Were Young
Interview by Anne Dillon
Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims has always had a thing for large-brained megafauna of the earth—dolphins and whales—and following that, the land mammals. To learn more about these amazing animals, she took to filming stories about them. Formally a narrative filmmaker, she switched to the...Read More »
A Path for Appu by G. Anjali Durepo
A wonderful new children’s book about elephants has recently come to our attention and we wanted to share news of it with you! A Path for Appu is a lovely tale of a young orphaned elephant who is all alone in the world before being discovered by an female adult...Read More »
Elephant Dawn by Sharon Pincott
After living among elephants in Zimbabwe for 13 years, Elephant Dawn by Sharon Pincott highlights the myriad problems that face both elephants and those who dedicate their lives to help protect them. It’s a story about becoming one with them; how these amazing wild, free-roaming giants accept – and indeed...Read More »
Elephant Children's Book: Once Upon An Elephant by Linda Stanek
Once Upon an Elephant is a beautifully designed and written story, suitable for children as young as four years old up to four or fifth graders. By using a child-oriented language the story tells the important role elephants play in their environment. It shows that their existence is crucial for...Read More »
"Reflections of Elephants" Book Launch on World Elephant Day
Reflections of Elephants features the astonishing photographs from acclaimed photographer Bobby-Jo Clow and writings from award winning David Blissett. In Reflections of Elephants, Bobby- Clow captures every aspect of elephant life. Blissett and Clow hope to raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts for elephants. Part of their sales will...Read More »
#EleeDraw Coloring Challenge
Color a better world for Elephants with #EleeDraw
This year for World Elephant Day we are raising awareness for elephants by sharing an elephant-themed coloring page that engages people of all ages and all parts of the world. The #EleeDraw is a...Read More »
'When Elephants Were Young' at Film Festivals
When Elephants Were Young is the new feature documentary produced and directed by World Elephant Day Co-Founder Patricia Sims.
Narrated by William Shatner, the film portrays a young man and a young elephant struggling to survive in Bangkok until the opportunity comes to release the elephant to protected forest...Read More »
Get Ready for World Elephant Day 2015
Calling All Elephant Advocates and World Elephant Day Associates!
Just an elephant nudge to remind you that the fourth annual World Elephant Day is coming up on August 12, 2015!
We are all too aware of the imminent threats that will, in the not-too-distant future, wipe out wild...Read More »
The Third Annual World Elephant Day: August 12, 2014
World Elephant Day has arrived! This is a special day to celebrate and honor elephants around the world, our achievements to protect them, and our hope for their future.
Elephant conservation continues to face complex challenges. We lost two of the world’s most iconic bull elephants this year, Satao and Mountain...Read More »
World Elephant Day 2014 Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / August 5, 2014
CONTACT: Jean Shirk, Shirk Media at jean@shirkmedia.com 510-332-4195
On the third annual World Elephant Day, Tuesday, August 12, 2014, people around the world plan actions and activities to help save increasingly threatened African and Asian elephants
(Earth, August 5, 2014) Tuesday, August 12, 2014, is...Read More »
World Elephant Day 2013 - Stand Up for Elephants
The second annual World Elephant Day Aug 12 is here! It’s a day to bring people together to help elephants. It’s also a day to remind us that the world’s elephants are in crisis.
Since the first World Elephant Day...Read More »
Return to the Forest Back Online!
In light of the international campaigns underway to stop all ivory trade and the upcoming CITES conference in Thailand, we are releasing Return to the Forest for people to screen for free online until March 28, 2013.
Return to the Forest is the story of the Elephant...Read More »
Elephants Never Forget
Filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark, the creators of the Return to the Forest documentary narrated by William Shatner launched on World Elephant Day, are completing their next documentary called “Elephants Never Forget“.
Return to the Forest in Hollywood
On behalf of the World Elephant Day team and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, we wish to thank everyone who helped us spread the word for World Elephant Day and watch our documentary “Return to the Forest”. The big day was a huge success! We connected with international elephant organizations interested...Read More »
Return to the Forest Gala Screening
The Elephant Reintroduction Foundation co-founded and supported the inaugural World Elephant Day initiative on August 12. In honour of World Elephant Day, the Foundation held a special Gala screening for Return to the Forest film at the Cineplex-Paragon theatre in Bangkok on August 14. Over 250 invited guests, Foundation...Read More »
Happy World Elephant Day!
Announcing the World Premiere of the “RETURN TO THE FOREST” documentary Narrated by William Shatner
“Return to the Forest” is the heartfelt story of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and its mission to return captive Asian elephants back to the wild in Thailand. August 12, 2012 is the...Read More »
Remote Heli-Filming with Elephants
Finding the best way to film the vastness of the Sublangka wildlife sanctuary in Central Thailand was a challenge.
Sublangka is one of the three protected forest habitats in Thailand where the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation releases captive elephants back to the wild. This expansive forest where the...Read More »
Auction of Original Painting for World Elephant Day
We’re pleased to announce that the auction for the original painting entitled “Nong-Mai and Pompam Replaced” is launched!
Millie Young, a UK artist and animator, created her latest original work “Nong-Mai and Pompam Replaced” in celebration of World Elephant Day. The painting is inspired by...Read More »
Welcome to the World Elephant Day Website!
Thank you for visiting the World Elephant Day website. We are excited to have launched and are looking forward to hearing from fellow elephant lovers on how we might continue to get the word out. We welcome suggestions for content that you’d like to see covered on the...Read More »
The dark side of the Elephant business
These are troubled times in the land of elephants. Back in early January, the Thai and international press reported on the alarming and tragic poaching of wild elephants from the Kaeng Krachan National Park in west Thailand, the country’s largest national park, which borders Myanmar.
What has...Read More »
Life as an Elephant
It’s not easy to be an elephant these days. African elephants are threatened by the relentless poaching frenzy that is slaughtering over 100 elephants per day throughout Africa.
Asian elephants, are critically endangered by rapid habitat loss, causing them to raid croplands in search of food, leading...Read More »
