At the time of this writing our petition is up to 623,209 signatures! We have presented the signatures to the Environment Minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, and encouraging talks have taken place since then. We hope to update you in the next newsletter. We are still hoping for more signatures to send to the minister, so please share with your friends: www.change.org/ivoryfreecanada.

Elephanatics & OwlCrate Jr Unite to Educate Kids

OwlCrate Jr is an award-winning subscription book box for kids aged 8-12. Each box includes a new novel, a letter from the author, plus cool activities, and fun goodies. Their theme for the March box is “Elephants on Parade”! While we can’t reveal the name of the book just yet, it is a story about the magical connection between elephants and humans.

Each March box will contain an Elephanatics’ fact sheet and bookmark. You can subscribe for 1, 3, or 6 months at owlcratejr.com and use READMORE2021 to save 15% off a new subscription.

Teachers and Educators: For a variety of elephant education lesson plans for youth aged 8 to 14 (including how elephants fight global warming), books, videos, and apps, please visit our website: www.elephanatics.org/education/

Canadian Corp Drilling for Oil in Africa

ReconAfrica is currently drilling for oil and gas in an area of over 35,000 square kilometres in Namibia, northwest of the Okavango Delta. The drill site is a watershed of the vast river delta – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Africa’s last great natural sanctuaries. It’s home to many wildlife, including hippos, elephants, crocodiles, lions, leopards, giraffes, and rhinos.

This is disturbing for ecological, environmental, and human rights reasons. Of great concern, is the overlapping of the Namibia drill site with an elephant migration corridor between two national parks. On top of this, ReconAfrica will carry out a seismic survey in a 2nd site in Botswana, beside the same migration route. Biologists are concerned the seismic survey’s sound waves will negatively affect elephants, which communicate via low-frequency seismic waves “heard” through their sensitive feet.

ReconAfrica’s headquarters are in Elephanatic’s own city of Vancouver, BC. Elephanatics is supporting international efforts to curtail the drilling by bringing awareness to the issue.

Please sign the petition here. You can read more about the drilling from National Geographic here

Calling all Teachers and Educators! Get your students involved in BackyardBio!

BackyardBio is an event created by the irrepressible Jesse from Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants – we love that name! It connects families and schools from all over the world, by sharing their local flora and fauna with each other. This fun activity is built around the International Day of Biodiversity on May 22. For more info – www.backyardbio.net.

1. In early May, explore your backyard, neighbourhood, or park and take photos of as many different species of plants, fish, birds, mammals (you name it!) as you can.

2. Share your pics all month long on Twitter or Instagram with #backyardbio. Follow the hashtag to see amazing images from around the globe!

3. Download the Seek app at www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app. Point the Seek Camera at plants or animals and the image recognition technology will identify them – kind of like Pokemon Go for nature! Add more species to earn more badges.

4. Register your family, school class, or group at www.backyardbio.net/how-to-take-part for more resources and to connect you with others worldwide.

Enjoy the Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants’ video with Elephanatics – https://youtu.be/1-5-R616REU

It’s not every day you can help secure a major improvement to the lives of sentient animals, including elephants, around the world. The Jane Goodall Act, S218, if passed, will be one of the strongest animal laws in history. Read more about the proposed legislation here.

If passed, this bill would transform animal protection in Canada. Please join us and ask the Senate to protect great apes, elephants, whales, and dolphins. It will take you a total of 19 seconds. Seriously. Go to https://janegoodall.ca/join-us/campaign/the-jane-goodall-act/ and fill out 4 boxes, then hit “Add Your Voice”. The Jane GoodalI Institute – Canada, is a coalition partner of our Ivory-Free Canada campaign.

2021 Elephanatics is a supporting member of the Asia for Animals coalition – hundreds of respected animal welfare organisations that have a shared focus on improving the welfare of animals in Asia. Tickets to their biennial conference “Welcome to a Better Tomorrow” on April 24 & 25 are only US$20 each at https://www.asiaforanimals.com/conference-2021. Topics include ending live animal markets, animals’ roles in climate change, and moving away from animal tourism. If your animal welfare organisation is interested in free membership of the AfA coalition, check out https://www.asiaforanimals.com/join-afa.

DID YOU KNOW?

* Elephanatics has its own online shop for clothing and a variety of other items! If you love elephants and want 100% of your item purchased to go directly to saving elephants, please visit our store at:
https://teespring.com/stores/elephanatics-bc

DYK – A group of elephants is called a herd, but also a “memory” of elephants. Very fitting, don’t you think!

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy!

The Elephanatics Team