Every year, World Elephant Day is celebrated on August 12 around the globe to raise awareness about the protection and conservation of the world's elephants. Several factors including poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict and mistreatment in captivity are some of the threats to elephants. In many cultures, particularly in Africa and Asia, elephants are often seen as symbols of strength, wisdom, and good fortune. This international event is a powerful reminder of the importance of elephants to our planet's biodiversity and calls for global efforts to protect these magnificent creatures. Learn more about World Elephant Day 2024 date, history and the significance of the global event.

World Elephant Day 2024 Date

World Elephant Day 2024 falls on Monday, August 12.

World Elephant Day History

The idea of World Elephant Day was conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark of Canazwest Pictures, and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary-General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand. However, it was officially founded, supported and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012. Since then, Patricia Sims continues to lead, support and direct World Elephant Day. World Elephant Day is now recognized and celebrated by over 100 wildlife organisations across the globe.

World Elephant Day Significance

World Elephant Day is a global awareness event that aims to create awareness of the plight of African and Asian elephants, to come together and find solutions for better care and management of captive and wild elephants. One of the major reasons of illegal poaching of both African and Asian elephants is the demand for ivory.

The African elephants are listed as ‘vulnerable’ and Asian elephants as ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. This World Elephant Day 2024, let’s take collective efforts to take better care of captive and wild elephants alike.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 12, 2024 06:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).