12nd August: International Elephant Day

August 12, International Elephant Day is an event that was conceived by Canadian Patria Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation with the intention of highlighting the complex situation these mammals are going through. The situation of elephants in both Africa and Asia is extremely urgent according to the organizers of World Elephant Day.

The biggest threat to these animals is the illegal trade in ivory from their tusks, which is why elephant numbers have declined so drastically. The global population of Asian elephants has fallen by more than 75% since 1950. A law that came into force in the late 1980s prohibits the trade and exploitation of ivory, but WWF says poaching remains a major chronic problem in parts of Africa, particularly in wilderness areas where authorities lack sufficient funds for maintenance and monitoring.

Threats to elephants

The two African elephant species and the Asian species (Elephas maximus) are threatened by poaching and habitat loss. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed every day for their ivory, meat and body parts. Despite an international ban on the ivory trade, the killing is getting worse and worse. In 2014, more than 33,000 elephants died at the hands of hunters seeking to obtain their ivory. And in some countries like Botswana, legal hunting permits are sold (as the Spanish public unfortunately discovered a few years ago) to «sport hunters» eager to have their picture taken smiling and proud next to the carcass of the largest land mammal, sentient, sentient and intelligent beings (we mean elephants).

But hunting is not their only threat. Climate change also affects their habitat and the availability of food and water. For example, a recent study in Gabon showed that over the last three decades, the amount of fruit available to forest elephants has decreased by 80% due to the effect of climate change on trees, which can affect the survival and reproduction rate of elephants, and thus the size of populations. In addition, heat and drought are drying up wells and waterholes, and the presence of algal toxins in the few remaining natural watering holes has resulted in the death of hundreds of elephants in Africa. Finally, deforestation and other human activities cause loss or degradation of their habitat. Climate change also affects human populations, and exacerbates human-elephant conflict, which is already a major concern, and the situation has the potential to escalate into future scenarios of habitat degradation and loss.

To raise awareness of the plight of elephants and promote their conservation, events and campaigns have been held on different dates locally, nationally and internationally. Conservation organizations, zoos, national parks and activists and special campaigns on specific days to highlight the importance of protecting elephants and their habitat.