Elephanatics

‘What can I do to help elephants?’ (Guardian list)
The Guardian
February 13, 2017

There is so much being done to help stop elephants being wiped out in the wild. We’ve identified more than 50 campaigns and organisations around the world, from well-known charities like the World Wide Fund for Nature to grassroots groups like Elephanatics in Canada and Laos-based ElefantAsia.

If you think we’ve missed anyone or anything, let us know at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com. We’ll update the list with your suggestions.

Please note, however: presence on this list does not constitute an endorsement. Organisations take differing approaches to elephant conservation, and even the most secure-looking can run into financial difficulties. As a conscientious giver it is your responsibility to make sure your contribution will be used wisely.

Set up petitions, organise marches, lobby politicians or just spread the word: there are a number of ways in which you can campaign and really make an impact. There are many inspiring grassroots groups that do amazing work; why not join one of these, or set up your own if there’s none in your country?

Petitioning can be a useful way to impress on politicians that there is widespread support for an issue. In the UK a petition to end the domestic ivory trade got over 100,000 signatures and forced a debate in parliament.

Lobbying politicians sounds like a big job; in fact politicians in many countries are very willing to listen to voters. In Canada Elephanatics has been working with MP Mike Farnworth, who has now introduced a private member’s bill calling for a ban on the sale of ivory and rhino horn. Search out sympathetic politicians and then support them with petitions and letters to other MPs.

Marches and demonstrations can show support for policy that will protect elephants. Groups in over 130 countries including Kenya, New Zealand and the US organised local demonstrations as part of the annual Global March for Elephants and Rhinos last year.

Educating people about the situation for elephants can be very effective. Youth 4 African Wildlife in South Africa offers a conservation internship for young adults and also runs a great community outreach programme.

Get creative A group of photographers and writers published a book (called 32 Souls, because Laotians believe that elephants and humans have 32 life spirits that guard us from misfortune and ill health) to raise money for the Elephant Conservation Centre in Laos.

Action for Elephants

In the UK, Action for Elephants has organised marches and talks to highlight the importance of banning the ivory trade. This grassroots group also campaigns against keeping elephants in captivity.

Blood Ivory

Even though 179 countries have signed up to Cites, the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the illegal trade in wild animals remains a multibillion-dollar industry. The Blood Ivory campaign aims to put pressure on Cites to do more to prevent poaching and ivory trafficking. Its online petition to tackle the black market in ivory has 56,000 signatures (and counting) and will be presented at the next Cites meeting in 2019.

Elephanatics

Based in Vancouver, Canada, Elephanatics aims to raise awareness of the poaching crisis and ensure the long-term survival of elephants through education, conservation and fun activities like the annual global march for elephants and rhinos.

ElephantVoices

Inspired by her childhood in Africa, Joyce Poole has been studying elephant behaviour and communication for more than 30 years. She has a particular interest in how poaching and habitat destruction affects herds’ social dynamics. Through ElephantVoices, which she founded in 2002, Poole campaigns for elephants and promotes research and conservation projects, while providing others with the resources they need to do the same.

Great Elephant Census

Conducting the first pan-African aerial survey of elephant populations in 40 years and covering 345,000 square miles across 18 countries, this ambitious project set out to count and map Africa’s savannah elephants. The final report, published last year, showed a 30% fall in numbers over the last seven years. While the census itself is complete, the organisation is now using its database to help governments, scientists and NGOs manage and protect elephant populations.

International Fund for Animal Welfare

Committed to bringing an end to animal poaching and trafficking, IFAW campaigns for the bolstering of wildlife trade policy with supranational organisations such as the UN and the EU, while helping to train customs agents and wildlife rangers. It also investigates online crime.

Join the Herd

This offshoot of WildAid – one of the largest conservation groups working to eliminate demand for wildlife products such as elephant ivory and rhino horn – is responsible for the #JoinTheHerd campaign. Showing your support is as easy as uploading a photo of yourself – which the website then stitches to one of an elephant – and sharing the resultant image on social media, with the #JoinTheHerd hashtag.

The Nature Conservancy

This non-profit aims to fight ivory trafficking on every front, training rangers, supplying sniffer dogs, working to make ivory less prestigious … Responsible for the #SaveElephants social media campaign, it also provides plenty of highly shareable pictures for your own activities.

Ninety-Six Elephants

Named after the 96 animals killed for their ivory every day in Africa, this offshoot of the Wildlife Conservation Society works to highlight the plight of elephants and supports organisations caring for them around the world. Campaigns include Origami for Elephants (“create your own customised digital origami elephant”) and the #ElephantYogaChallenge (“You can help save elephants with yoga”).

Save the Asian Elephants

Putting pressure on politicians both at home and overseas is a powerful way to effect change. Save the Asian Elephant provides template letters and contact details for top-ranking officials, including the British prime minister, Theresa May, and India’s minister for tourism, Dr Mahesh Sharma, which you can use to urge them to follow through on their promises to protect Asian elephants.

Scotland for Elephants and Rhinos

A grassroots organisation dedicated to raising awareness about the ivory trade and the fate of elephants across Africa. It offers a space to share knowledge, lobby government and join marches.

Stand Up for Nature

Founded by two zoology students from the University of Exeter, this little organisation focuses on producing short films that target a wildlife crime or human-wildlife conflict issue. These are then shown to affected communities through a bicycle-powered cinema. In Malawi, Stop Wildlife Crime, Protect Malawi’s Wildlife, about elephants and the illegal ivory trade, was shown to more than 14,000 people.

Wildlife Trade Campaign

This World Wide Fund for Nature initiative is focused on ending Thailand’s ivory trade – once the world’s second largest – and has already enjoyed much success. In 2015, its efforts helped the Thai government to pass new regulations, while last year’s Ivory-Free Thailand campaign enlisted the help of local celebrities to discourage consumers from buying or accepting gifts of ivory.

World Elephant Day

Launched by the World Elephant Society, which creates and distributes educational information about elephant conservation, World Elephant Day (12 August) asks elephant-lovers the world over to share their appreciation of these endangered animals.

Youth 4 African Wildlife

Youth 4 African Wildlife works with young people in the hope that they’ll become global conservation ambassadors. It offers conservation internships for people from all over the world, and also raises awareness through community outreach in the greater Kruger National Park area in South Africa.

Suggestions? Comments? Email us at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com

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If you want to help elephants and have time to spare, these organisations want to hear from you. Some offer hybrid travel and volunteering experiences that will let you interact with elephants in their own habitat. Others need assistance with campaigns or administration. As always, make sure you understand their aims and approaches before signing up.

Burm and Emily’s Elephant Sanctuary

Set in the lush countryside of Thailand’s northern Mae Chaem district, this sanctuary serves as a retirement community for some of the country’s 4,000-plus registered captive elephants, which have endured long lives of hard graft and exploitation, predominantly within the tourism and logging industries. Tasks for volunteers range from feeding and bathing the animals to teaching English to local children.

Cambodia Elephant Sanctuary, Globalteer

With stays at the charity’s Cambodian elephant sanctuary lasting anywhere between one and four weeks, a good level of fitness is a must, as volunteers are expected to spend much of their time hiking through the Mondulkiri province’s mountainous terrain. Activities include observing the elephants in their natural habitat and planting seedlings to counteract deforestation.

Elephant Conservation Center

Elephants in Lagos are traditionally used in logging and worked to the point of exhaustion. The Conservation Center is home to the country’s first elephant hospital dedicated to victims of logging accidents, and has an elephant breeding programme. Reliant on donations and fees from volunteers, the centre invites visitors to learn about elephants and the importance of conservation in their natural environment.

Go Overseas (various projects)

A useful starting point for any well-intentioned volunteer who doesn’t quite know where to start. There are dozens of opportunities across Africa and Asia to choose from, including data collection and research projects in Thailand, community outreach and wildlife education programmes in South Africa, and hands-on caretaking roles in a Sri Lankan elephant sanctuary.

The Great Projects (various projects)

Human-animal conflict is one of the greatest threats to some of the world’s most at-risk elephant populations. The Great Projects links volunteers to conservation efforts in Asia and Africa; these include protecting the Namibian desert elephants – whose slowly recovering numbers were as low as 300 in the 1990s – by working with the local farmers, who frequently come into violent contact with the animals.

Save the Elephant Foundation

Dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant, Save the Elephant Foundation provides a safe home for rescued elephants in its Elephant Nature Park in Chang Mai, Thailand. It invites volunteers and visitors to spend time with the animals, feeding, bathing and giving them care and affection in their natural habitat.

Saving Elephants by Helping People, Worldwide Experiences

One of the largest human-elephant conflict resolution projects in the world, this scheme run by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society sees volunteers muck in across a wide variety of tasks. Daily activities might include observing elephant herds, identifying game trails, developing a dialogue with local communities, or maintaining the scenically situated base camp in north-western Sri Lanka.

Suggestions? Comments? Email us at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com

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Giving money may seem the easiest way to help a cause you believe in. But deciding which organisation to donate to can be a daunting task. Some will use the money across their programmes, while others will let you back specific projects.

Be sure to check that the organisation is legitimate and fits your objectives. Study its website, check its credentials and search the web to learn about its reputation and status. In addition to government regulators, these organisations provide advice for charitable giving: Charity Navigator, GuideStar, Charity Watch and GreatNonprofits.

Global

Back a Ranger, World Wide Fund for Nature

The rangers who risk their lives to prevent wildlife poaching and trafficking make little money and often spend months at a time away from their families. A guaranteed 100% of donations to this WWF-run initiative fund the equipment and infrastructure they need to do their jobs effectively and safely.

Born Free Foundation

For more than 30 years Born Free has been working to keep wildlife in the wild. You can support its work by (symbolically) adopting either orphaned Asian elephant calf Jubilee, or African elephant Emily Kate, who now has a calf of her own. The welcome pack includes a cuddly toy and personalised adoption certificate.

Elephant Crisis Fund

Since its creation three years ago, this joint initiative between Save the Elephants and the Wildlife Conservation Network has channelled donations to the areas where elephant populations are collapsing the quickest, and the projects on the ground best placed to do something about it. Its celebrity-backed anti-ivory campaign in China played a vital role in changing policy in the country.

Elephants Action League

With donations funding information-gathering operations and deep-cover field investigations, the EAL adopts an intelligence-led approach to uncovering and disrupting the criminal networks behind poaching and ivory trafficking.

Environmental Investigation Agency

As well as using specialist investigators to infiltrate the criminal organisations profiting from the exploitation of wildlife, the EIA runs evidence-backed campaigns to advocate for meaningful policy change at a governmental level. Investigations typically cost between £10,000 and £20,000 and rely on donations from the public.

International Elephant Foundation

Rather than paying into a pot that the charity will redistribute as it sees fit, this foundation allows donors to choose a specific programme and guarantees that 100% of their donation will reach their intended recipients. There are more than 20 research and conservation projects to choose from, including the Mounted Horse Patrol Anti-Poaching Unit for Mount Kenya.

International Fund for Animal Welfare

As well as its own investigative and policy work, the IFAW partners with media organisations around the world to raise awareness of the illegal ivory trade and the destruction it causes. Donations help to fund future media campaigns and awareness-raising projects.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

From elephants and tigers to chameleons and carnivorous plants, this research project run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature is aiming to gauge the health of the world’s biodiversity by assessing 160,000 species by 2020. It’s almost halfway there. Donations will support this ongoing research as well as supporting on-the-ground conservation projects.

Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund

Elephants and tigers play vital roles in the ecosystem, and JTEF aims to raise awareness of their importance. It has several programmes to support conservation work, and reduce Japanese demand for wildlife products.

The Thin Green Line

It’s not just elephants and other wildlife that are at the mercy of the poachers’ weapons: more than 1,000 park rangers are estimated to have been killed in the past decade simply for standing in their way. This Australian-run foundation seeks to “protect nature’s protectors” by providing training and vital anti-poaching equipment, while also offering financial support to the families of those killed in the line of duty.

Wild Philanthropy

Wild Philanthropy supports at-risk ecosystems and communities in Africa through grants to NGOs that are involved in managing protected areas. It also provides secured loans to local eco-tourist businesses..

World Animal Foundation

As an all-volunteer organisation, the WAF uses every penny donated to help secure the longevity of animals and the delicate ecosystems that they inhabit. To show your support for elephants specifically – rather than the plethora of protected species ranging from fireflies to fish – you can symbolically adopt onefor $35 (£28) a year.

World Animal Protection

When elephants come into contact with farmland, they can wreak havoc and destroy livelihoods by eating or crushing crops. Many farmers respond by setting out poison or taking other extreme measures. World Animal Protection works with communities to come up with simple and sustainable solutions that allow humans and elephants to coexist, such as the introduction of chilli fences in Mikumi National Park in Tanzania.

Focus on African elephants

Air Shepherd

Most poaching takes place after dark, when rangers aren’t around. This initiative from the Lindbergh Foundation runs drone operations at night in collaboration with local rangers. With thermal imaging sensors, it can locate wildlife as well as poachers, and position rangers before an incident takes place. In two years of testing in a park in South Africa that had been losing 18 rhinos a week, not one animal was lost. Air Shepherd has now conducted around 5,000 missions, across South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

African Parks

Stepping in where local governments are unwilling or unable to act, African Parks manages 10 national parks in seven countries, taking complete responsibility for the day-to-day management and preservation of 6 million hectares of protected land. Already employing 600 rangers – the largest counter-poaching force on the continent – it aims to increase its conservation operation by 2020 to 20 parks and more than 10m hectares.

African Wildlife Foundation

The communities who share their land with elephants are best placed to conserve their natural heritage, but they often lack the means to do so. The African Wildlife Foundation recruits, trains and equips wildlife scouts from these areas, providing employment opportunities to local people and creating a large and effective poaching deterrent in the process.

Amboseli Trust for Elephants

Renowned wildlife researcher and conservationist Cynthia Moss has been studying elephants in the Amboseli National Park, straddling the Kenya-Tanzania border, since the early 1970s. She founded the Amboseli Trust for Elephants after seeing elephant populations in Kenya plummet by an estimated 85%. As well as groundbreaking scientific research, the trust conducts extensive community outreach programmes with the local Maasai community. One such scheme compensates anyone who has lost livestock to elephants, which has more than halved the number of animals speared and killed in retribution.

Big Life Ranger Club

Policing the 2m acres of elephant habitat in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro region of east Africa takes courage and dedication, with wildlife rangers spending weeks in remote outposts, putting their lives at risk every day. The Big Life Foundation employs hundreds of Maasai rangers, providing them with field units, vehicles, tracker dogs and aerial surveillance. You can support their efforts by joining the Ranger Club with a one-off or monthly donation.

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Fostering Programme

An elephant calf depends on its mother’s milk for the first two years of its life. So when one becomes orphaned – often because its mother has fallen foul of ivory poachers – the calf’s life hangs in the balance. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust fosters, feeds and rears these orphaned calves, eventually reintroducing them to the wild in the Tsavo East National Park. To date, 150 calves have been saved in this way.

Elephants Alive!

A research-based organisation that began life as Save the Elephants – South Africa, Elephants Alive! has been monitoring one of South Africa’s largest continuous elephant populations for over 20 years. It believes that extensive knowledge of elephants’ movements and needs is vital to ensure their long-term survival.

Elephant Aware Masia Mara

An offshoot of the Wildland Conservation Trust, this non-profit organisation works with Maasai communities in Kenya to help elephants and other wildlife.

Elephants Without Borders

On the banks of the Zambezi river, where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe share a border, lies the town of Kazungula, from where Elephants Without Borders (EWB) runs its transnational conservation operation. African elephants regularly cross these international boundaries, leaving them at the mercy of changeable policy and conservation laws. Using state-of-the-art monitoring technology, EWB tracks their movements and works with the local authorities to create safe migratory corridors through which the elephants can move freely.

Friends of Hwange

In Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, elephant and other wildlife populations are at risk from bone-dry summers as well as from humans. In 2005, a particularly devastating drought saw scores of animals lose their lives. On the back of this disaster, Friends of Hwange was formed to pump water from underground sources, providing waterholes even in the most extreme conditions.

GRI Wildlife Crime Prevention Project

Zambia sits at the heart of southern Africa, surrounded by four countries identified by Cites as centres of ivory poaching and trafficking. The Game Rangers International Wildlife Crime Prevention Project works with conservation organisations and law enforcement to end the illegal wildlife trade in and through Zambia.

Lilongwe Wildlife Trust

Malawi is one of the poorest, and fastest-growing, countries in the world, which is putting its natural habitat under severe strain. In 2008 the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust launched its first project, the Wildlife Centre, as a sanctuary for rescued animals and an education centre. The NGO now works across the country in rescues, advocacy and conservation education.

PAMS foundation

Based in Tanzania, PAMS Foundation works in conservation to benefit both wildlife and the community. Its initiatives include training dogs to detect ivory being smuggled at borders, and supporting the Tanzanian government to undertake anti-poaching efforts.

Save the Elephants

The elephants of northern Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve are some of the best studied in the world, thanks to the work of Save the Elephants. The charity’s main research centre is located in Samburu, from where it once pioneered the GPS tracking of elephant populations, and continues to try to understand ecosystems from an elephant’s perspective. Donations go towards various research and protection projects, from anti-poaching aerial surveillance to better understanding the herds’ migratory movements.

Tears of the African Elephant

This Japanese-Kenyan NGO is best known for its “No Ivory Generation” campaign, aimed at changing Japanese consumers’ attitudes to ivory.

Tusk

Tusk has invested about £30m in 60 conservation projects across Africa since its founding in 1990. Education and sustainable development are at the heart of its approach to conservation, working with local schools and rural communities to promote happy cohabitation between at-risk wildlife and the ever-expanding human population.

Wildlife Conservation Society

The group behind the Ninety-Six Elephants campaign (see the campaign, lobby and educate section above) has a presence in 15 of the 37 African elephant range sites, from the savannahs of east Africa to the Gulf of Guinea. Donations help WCS’ efforts to stop the degradation of elephant habitats and prevent wildlife crime by providing rangers with essential technological and intelligence-gathering resources.

Focus on Asian elephants

Asian Elephant Conservation Fund

A US Fish and Wildlife Service initiative financed by a mixture of government contributions and public donations, the fund awards grants to a variety of conservation and animal welfare projects. Recent beneficiaries include a scheme to mitigate human-elephant conflict in Nepal; counter-poaching operations in Thailand; and veterinary training to improve the care of captive elephants in Indonesia.

Asian Elephant Support

As an all-volunteer organisation, the AES uses 100% of donations to fund numerous and diverse programmes everywhere from India to Vietnam. These range from English as a Second Language classes so that mahouts can develop their careers, to meeting the veterinary and housing needs of retired working elephants.

ElefantAsia

ElefantAsia promotes alternative, cruelty-free careers for the elephants and mahouts that have traditionally served the logging industry in Laos and other parts of south-east Asia. The Laos-based non-profit also providing veterinary care in the form of mobile clinics and an elephant hospital in Sayaboury province.

Elephant Conservation Center

By making a one-off donation or sponsoring an elephant – generally a pregnant female, a mother with a baby, or an elderly or injured animal – donors can support the ECC’s efforts to rescue elephants from the Lao logging industry and re-home them in 106 hectares of protected forest.

Elephant Family

Rather than impose western ideas of how to run conservation projects, Elephant Family empowers local experts to develop their own solutions to protect Asian elephants in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Malaysia.

Friends of the Asian Elephant

Soraida Salwala founded Friends of the Asian Elephant’s first elephant hospital in Thailand in 1993. Since then, more than 4,000 elephants have received medical treatment in her facility.

Shola Trust

In their spare time, a group of young people based in Gudalur work in nature conservation in the Nilgiri region of south India. Part of their work involves research into how people and elephants can coexist peacefully.

Think Elephants International

The next generation of conservationists could be the key to ensuring elephants’ long-term survival. Through its educational programmes, Think Elephants International is keeping the subject alive in classrooms both at home in the US and in Thailand, with ambitions to spread the word far beyond.

Wildlife Trust of India

Formed almost 20 years ago in response to the threats to wildlife in India. With 150 employees, the group is dedicated to nature conservation through a wide range of projects. For example, it has supported anti-poaching training for more than 15,000 people working with wildlife.

Suggestions? Comments? Email us at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com

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You can make a real difference to conservation efforts by becoming a citizen scientist. You don’t need a PhD to help track elephant populations.

MammalMAP

Run by the University of Cape Town, the MammalMAP project asks travellers and citizen scientists to share their photos of African wildlife, along with information about the date and location that the photograph was taken. In so doing, you will be helping to build a valuable picture of the mammal population and how it is changing.

Mara EleApp

This Android app, created by ElephantVoices, allows users to upload sightings and observations of Mara elephants to help the conservation charity with its research and campaign work. A must-download for locals and visitors to Maasai Mara.

Snapshot Serengeti

A fun, simple and interactive way to conduct valuable scientific research from anywhere in the world. Snapshot Serengeti asks citizen scientists to help classify the animals caught on some of the hundreds of camera traps dotted throughout the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. You will be shown a photo and provided with a user-friendly and searchable list of native animals. Get clicking to help researchers better understand the park’s animal populations.

WildCam Gorongosa

You don’t have to travel all the way to Mozambique to be part of the Gorongosa National Park’s conservation team. Simply review webcam and camera trap footage to help identify the movements of the park’s animal populations.

Suggestions? Comments? Email us at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com

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Whether you would rather bake cakes or trek across Kenya, your hard work can raise money (and awareness) for elephant conservation. Just make sure you obey local regulations.

100 Miles for Elephants

Described by National Geographic as one of the “most authentic, most innovative … and most sustainable tours” out there, this annual nine-day expedition involves trekking across the Kenyan countryside, encountering wildlife and the people responsible for its conservation along the way. Participants are asked to raise upwards of $1,000 (£800), which goes towards preventing the slaughter of the region’s elephants.

Crowdrise

Simply select an elephant-focused charity or conservation project from the website’s vast database, and within a couple of minutes you can set up your own fundraising page. Crowdrise promises that at least 97% of the proceeds will go to your chosen cause. Alternatively (or additionally), you can sponsor and support others in their fundraising efforts.

JustGiving

Functioning in much the same way as its crowd-funding cousin Crowdrise, JustGiving provides users with a simple way to share news of their fundraising campaigns with friends and family and to collect sponsorship.

Tusk

Whether you want to run the London Marathon, climb Mount Kilimanjaro or hold a bake sale in the name of elephant conservation, Tusk’s team can support your fundraising endeavours, be that by helping you get a place at an event, or by providing you with useful tips and ideas.

Veterans 4 Wildlife

An anti-poaching initiative, Veterans 4 Wildlife sends skilled veterans – and volunteers – to support rangers across Africa. Often poverty is the cause of poaching, so this organisation does a lot of community-based work, such as building schools and creating jobs.

World Wide Fund for Nature

Provides all the tools and tips you need to create a successful fundraising campaign. Download flyers, posters and pictures direct from the website, or draw inspiration from other fundraising efforts.

Suggestions? Comments? Email us at elephant.conservation@theguardian.com

And lastly … what not to do

It’s easy to become so fascinated by elephants that you overlook ways in which you are harming them. Here are some of the things you should not do if you want to prevent exploitation and abuse.

Don’t ride elephants. Their backs are much more fragile than they seem.
Don’t visit “shelters” that exist only to make money from tourists.
Don’t go to shows where elephants are used as entertainment or made to perform tricks.
Don’t buy ivory products – or suspected ivory products – whether new, secondhand or antique.
Don’t support zoos that buy elephants from poachers or take elephants from the wild.
Don’t visit places where you might inadvertently encounter elephants and cause human-elephant conflict.
Don’t buy souvenirs, products or services that may have had a negative impact on elephants.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/13/what-can-i-do-to-help-elephants

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/06/live-qa-what-can-we-do-to-help-elephants

“I was born in South Africa in 1981 and grew up in both South Africa and East Africa.  Having always been passionate about the environment and art I was fortunate to have traveled extensively to many of the most beautiful wild places in Africa and have lasting images of inspiration.

After graduating from Rhodes University with an Honours degree in Environmental Science I briefly worked as an environmental consultant before I decided in 2008 to dedicate my energy to being a full-time artist. Since 2008 I have been pursuing and growing as an artist and am mostly self-taught. My love of the natural world is the inspiration behind the majority of my work.  Conservation causes are important to me, and I like contributing my support through artwork for fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Although I love to work in a variety of mediums, charcoal has become one of my biggest loves and for the last few years I have worked mostly in this medium.  The organic nature of charcoal, its versatility and almost sculptural character has opened up a wonderful world for me to explore the different elements of texture, mood and light. Through my work I hope to express my passion for nature and to inspire others to connect with the natural world and to become active in protecting it.”

Please visit Ashleigh’s website at: www.ashleigholsen.com  for an experience of aesthetic pleasure and nature beyond compare!

 

Elephanatics Supports MEP

Elephanatics Supports MEP

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey has just announced the company will put on their last performances in May 2017. Citing an overall decline in ticket sales exacerbated by the retirement of their elephants, Ringling said in a statement the 146-year-old circus had become “an unsustainable business for the company.” Ringling retired its elephants to a facility in central Florida last year. See our coverage about the decision and the facility.

Read more here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150916-ringling-circus-elephants-florida-center/

 

 

“Success is not final;   failure is not fatal:   It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill

2016 reared its head with great strength, fortitude, and an impending desire to forge new alliances and explore uncharted territories in regards to saving elephants. Elephanatics mission to bring awareness to the crisis of the African and Asian elephant gained much momentum this year thanks to the collaboration with other elephant organizations and many in the Vancouver community who supported us through various campaigns.

Some highlights from our Elephanatics year are included below:

https://elephanatics.org/2016/04/29/vancouver-fashion-week-march-14-20th-2016/

https://elephanatics.org/2016/04/29/woman-in-film-and-television-vancouver/

https://elephanatics.org/2016/06/14/vancouver-global-march-for-elephants-and-rhinos-2016/

https://elephanatics.org/2016/10/09/some-positive-outcomes-from-cites-cop17/

We would like to thank all of you who were an integral part in helping the elephants by supporting us. May 2017 continue to bring positive results in all our efforts to end poaching and unethical tourism.

Happy New Year!

The Elephanatics Team

 

Exciting news! We have collaborated with Modern Karmavore to create our very own elephant t-shirts and sweaters. All proceeds are donated to Elephanatics! 🐘

Shop here:

“I just want to drink coffee, save elephants and do yoga”:
http://tinyurl.com/gsffuxv

“Elephant OMbassador”: http://tinyurl.com/jdrpw7c

‘Twas two nights before Christmas

And all through the land,

All the elephants were waiting

For a total ivory ban.

 

Conservationists were musing

On how things looked so grim,

Humans had tried to kill Kenya’s largest bull:

Tusker Tim!

 

When what to their surprise

Tusker arrived with a clatter,

To their camp at Amboseli

So they could take care of the matter.

 

Protruding from his head

There appeared a large spear,

Someone had tried to kill him

The second attempt in two years.

 

The veterinarian went to work

On his forehead and ear,

Happy to realize he wasn’t poisoned

And that his fatality was not near.

 

Tusker Tim was so thankful

For the conservationists work,

He trumpeted loudly

And then turned with a jerk.

 

Summoning family

And friends that he knew,

From Amboseli’s AA and EA

GB and JA too.

 

Now, Gwen! now, Eloise!

Now, Golda! and Alison!

On, Jolene! on Jamila!

On, Jean! and Jackson!

 

The wound on his skin did not deter

His great scheme,

Of surprising his helpers

Who were such a professional team!

 

To the depths of the savannah

They all went different ways,

To gather their presents

For delivery on Christmas Day.

 

Tusker Tim sought out pumpkin

Jolene searched for plants,

Jean found some tree bark

But Golda only found ants!

 

To the glee of the conservationists

Tusker Tim led the way,

Of thanking them for all they do

Each and every day.

 

To be thankful at Christmas

Is what it’s all about,

Without the care from others

Elephant’s lives would be far worse off.

 

He ended with reminding them

That they needed a better plan,

To convince the world

That elephants need A TOTAL IVORY BAN!

 

But today he was merry

And did not dwell on the hateful,

He banished negative thoughts

And was internally grateful!

 

May we all learn from Tusker Tim

The lesson of the white dove,

By spreading trunks of peace to all

The focus is on sharing love.

 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good elephant!

 

 

                     Tusker Tim

 

written by /Fran Duthie