Spreading some ellie love on World Elephant Day

An elephant never forgets…

So, all animal lovers must also not forget that today is a very special day for our majestic elephants: World Elephant Day. This elephantastic day is annually celebrated on the 12^th of August.

World Elephant Day was first celebrated in 2012 in order to bring greater attention to the vital plight of elephant species, including Asian and African elephants. It is an international initiative co-founded by Canadian Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand. It is now the fifth year that it globally raises awareness. Millions of participants globally show their support.

This special day commemorates our fascinatingly majestic creatures, the world’s largest terrestrial animal. Elephants are highly intelligent, social, and empathetic and have an essential role in their ecosystems. They are revered and respected species, but they are on the brink of extinction. These charismatic animals face various threats such as poaching, habitat loss and space limitation. Given the harsh reality faced by many elephants, it is so vitally important to raise awareness of their plight in order to conserve these majestic animals.

Whichever way you decide to help raise awareness, you will make an invaluable contribution. So please, spread the Ellie love and celebrate this important environmental day!

Source: Livescience

Source: Pinterest

Source: Days of the year

Threats to Elephants

Although elephants are some of the most majestic animals, their numbers are declining at a rapidly accelerating and unprecedented pace. Reasons/Threats include:

·       Poaching in Africa is a huge concern. If the current rate takes place, elephants will be extinct within the next 10 years.

·       As human populations increase, forest-cover decreases which lead to elephants to be in close proximity with humans. African elephants’ habitats have decline as a result of the land being converted for development, agriculture, and settlements, thus habitat loss has occurred as there are space limitations. Habitat fragmentation makes it nearly impossible to breed and also elephants are easily spotted and traps are set by poachers.

An example of habitat loss. Source: WWF.

 

·       A decline in elephant numbers are particular of concern in in central Africa and parts of East Africa and there about 500,000 elephants left on the continent.

·       Elephants are a huge target as there is an ever-increasing demand for ivory in China.

·       Abuse and exploitation also unfortunately occur.

What you can do to protect elephants

Take part in conservation efforts, and be Herd! Encourage other people to also get involve in order to conserve this important species. Educate yourself and become knowledgeable about animals and their habitats. Here is how you can also help elephants as an individual: http://worldelephantday.org/how-to-help-elephants

 



Source: World Elephant Day (http://worldelephantday.org/)



 

 

The wonder of elephants – facts about these majestic creatures



Source: Day Wallpaper Word press

·       According to the WWF, Tanzania's elephant population has suffered a catastrophic decline in recent years, with numbers plummeting from an estimated 109,000 in 2009 to just 43,000 in 2014.

·       African elephant habitat has declined by over 50% since 1979, while Asian elephants are now restricted to just 15% of their original range.

·       Without intervention, African (classified as vulnerable) and Asian elephants (classified as endangered) face extinction.

·       An elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory.

Source: Africa Green Media

 

Behavioural statistics

·       Every birth is a celebration and deaths of loved ones are mourned. Elephants have death rituals. If it dies, they dig a shallow grave and cover the body with soil or branches and can show signs of depression.

·       In the wild, each day is filled with socializing, exploring, playing, and participating in other activities.

·       Elephants live up to around 70 years, with females mostly fertile between 25 and 45.

·       Female elephants are social animals, living in herds with their relatives.

·       Males usually live alone.

·       All elephants need an expansive amount of space and rave to roam very far in search of food and water to sustain themselves.

·       The average elephant drinks more than 200 litres of water per day

·       African elephants mainly eat leaves and branches of bushes and trees, but also eat grasses, fruit, and bark.

·       Elephants can communicate over long distances by producing a sub-sonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than sound through air.

Gestation

·       Males need to reach 20 years of age in order to successfully compete for mating.

·       The elephant has the longest gestation period of any mammal at 22 months.

·       When the calf is born it weighs around 115kg and will be suckled by the mother for another 22 months after that. Most females only reproduce once every four to nine years.

Source: A Cute A Day

·       When an elephant calf is born, it is raised and protected by the whole matriarchal herd.

·       Young elephants wean after 6 to 18 months, although they may continue nursing for over 6 years.

Physical attributes

·       Elephants are the world's largest land animals.

 

·       African elephant males are the biggest of the bunch, weighing in at up to 6 tonnes, while smaller Asian elephants can still tip the scales at 5 tonnes.

Source: Pinterest

·       The biggest can be up to 7.5m long, 3.3m high at the shoulder, and 6 tonnes in weight.

·       The trunk is an extension of the upper lip and nose and is used for communication and handling objects, including food.

·       Tusks occur in males and females which are used in fights and for marking, feeding, and digging.

·       African elephants have very large ears, allowing them to radiate excess heat. Their ears can reach up to 1.5 metres in diameter.

 

Source: Wikipedia

 

·       Elephants are the only animal to have four forward-facing knees.

·       Elephants have a very acute sense of hearing and can hear through the soles of their feet and the sides of the trunk as well as their ears.

·       A typical elephant brain weighs 5kg

·       Elephants can be distinguished by the number of toes on their feet. The African forest elephant and the Asian elephant both have five toenails on the front feet and four on the back. The larger African bush elephant has four or five on the front and three on the back.

·       An elephant's trunk has more than 100 000 muscles.
 

References:

·         http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?247661/Tanzania-facing-an-elephant-disaster

·         http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/#sthash.kkgnV5WJ.dpuf

·         http://www.courier.co.uk/World-Elephant-Day-2015-11-facts-creatures/story-27587542-detail/story.html#ixzz3iao9icvK

Spreading some Ellie love on World Elephant Day

 

World Elephant Day is annually celebrated on the 12 of August. This special day commemorates our fascinatingly majestic creatures, the world’s largest terrestrial animal. This day is specifically celebrated by animal lovers to raise awareness so that elephants are respected and protected, thereby ensuring their future survival. This day helps to spread awareness to stop the ivory trade and to protect their habitat. Elephants are highly intelligent, charismatic, social, and empathetic and have an essential role in their ecosystems. But given the harsh reality faced by many elephants and many threats (including poaching and habitat loss) to their existence and habitat, it is so vitally important to raise awareness of their plight in order to conserve these majestic animals.

 

More than 65 wildlife organisations around the world spread an important message with regards to this important species and their conservation.

 

Whichever way you decide to help raise awareness, you will make an invaluable contribution. So please, spread the Ellie love and celebrate this important environmental day.