First recognized in 2012, World Elephant Day is a global effort to raise awareness about the issues facing elephants in the wild and in captivity.
We're Celebrating
The Elephant Sanctuary is celebrating World Elephant Day with the grand opening of our Outdoor Classroom, featuring self-guided exhibits on elephants as a keystone species in their native habitats, ongoing conservation efforts to protect them, and the features and behaviors unique to their species.
Nashville-based artist, Alex Lockwood, was commissioned to design a life-sized "re-tired" Asian elephant sculpture that will live in the Outdoor Classroom. The sculpture was created out of community-sourced, recycled tires.
Take Action for Elephants
Lend Your Voice
- Become an EleAmbassador and raise awareness in your community.
- If you’re an educator, schedule a Distance Learning program with The Elephant Sanctuary to inform students about the importance of keeping elephants wild, and their contributions as a keystone species.
- Find out where your city stands on animals in performance and then...
- Ask your local officials to prevent permits to shows traveling with wild/exotic animals.
- Express your support for bills that protect wild/exotic animals.
- Request animal-free performances in your
Use Your Purchasing Power
- Choose ecotourism operations that support local elephant conservation projects, do not offer elephant rides, and treat elephants with respect and dignity.
- Avoid palm oil. While it can be produced sustainably, production methods of palm oil often go unchecked and threaten local ecosystems. Choose clearly labeled oils, such as 100 percent sunflower oil, corn oil, olive oil, coconut oil, or canola oil, or look for RSPO labels for products made with sustainable palm oil that doesn’t deplete elephant habitats.
- Do not buy or trade ivory. Help protect elephants and their tusks by supporting measures aimed at combating the global ivory trade.
- Purchase only Fair-trade, shade-grown coffee. Clear cutting of forests for production threatens elephants’ natural wooded habitats.
You Can Change the Lives of Elephants
During the past two decades, we have seen first-hand the chronic health and behavioral issues elephants can experience due to captivity. At The Elephant Sanctuary, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of physical ailments like kidney disease, anemia, osteoarthritis, obesity, foot abscesses and tuberculosis is imperative and never ending.
We need your help to meet the needs of aging elephants here and across North America. We need your help to expand our veterinary facilities and modify barns and habitats so they are more accessible for elephants with limited mobility or arthritis. We need your help to continue providing gold-standard care for elephants!
All of this is possible through your support. Consider a gift to The Sanctuary's Summer Appeal in honor of World Elephant Day!
