World Elephant Day 2021

World Elephant Day was observed on August 12, across the world. The day is observed with the objective of spreading awareness regarding the plight of elephants. It also seeks to recognize the importance of elephants in our ecosystem.

Highlights

• Then Union Environment Minister of India Prakash Javadekar and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu in 2020 pledged their support to this cause.
• He revealed a beta version of Suraksha, which is a national platform on human-elephant conflict.

Theme of World Elephant Day 2021

The theme World Elephant Day 2021 has not been announced yet. In the year 2020 the theme was ‘Haathi Hamara Saathi.’

History of World Elephant Day

First world elephant day was observed on August 12, 2012. It highlighted the plight of Asian and African elephants. On the occasion, event was organised by Thai-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, in association with Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims. The Sims has been a leader in World Elephant Day, since 2012.

Significance of the day

World elephant day focuses on spreading awareness regarding their preservation and protection. Elephants, especially Asian and African, are vulnerable to threats like habitat loss, poaching, mistreatment in captivity hover over elephants.

World Elephant Society

Charitable organisation of the Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sim called “World Elephant Society” has educated several people and has created awareness on an international level for elephant protection. Elephant society works in partnership with 100 elephant conservation organisations. Unbiased approach of the organization allows and encourages campaigns by all groups and citizens under the “World Elephant Day”.

Elephant count

As per recent data of World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 440,000 elephants have left on the Earth. WWF notes that, every year around 15,000 elephants are hunted by poachers. Number of wild Asiatic elephants has decreased to 50,000 accounting for 15% of its historic average.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2021