Tag: biodiversity

A Thank You From Kulen Forest Elephant

Published on by elephanatic
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Kulen Elephant Forest
April 22 
🙏🐘 Jumbo thank you to Elephanatics for their continued support and generous donations.
Cambodia is facing another outbreak of Covid-19 which has caused us to close to visitors again. We are deeply thankful to Elephanactics for helping us during this difficult time.
We remain determined to care for our herd during the pandemic so they can continue to have the life they deserve.
If you would like to donate please follow the link to our GoFundMe campaign, no amount is too small in helping these gentle giants.

Where Have All the Elephants Gone? by Margaret Bear

Published on by elephanatic

We are very pleased to share an article written by Margaret Bear for BCnature magazine Spring edition 2021.

Elephanatics was instrumental in assisting with information gathered for this article and we thank Margaret for her deep love and concern for elephants. The Canadian government needs to act immediately and close the domestic trade in elephant ivory in Canada. Our petition is now at 627, 000 signatures. African savannah elephants are now on the endangered IUCN Red List and African forest elephants are on the critically endangered list.

What is Canada waiting for?

 

Published on by elephanatic

Elephant Advocacy with Elephanatics

By: Kellie Diguangco

Elephant Advocacy with ElephanaticsElephanatics Elephant Advocacy Elephants on Parade Middle Grade Monthly Theme year_2021

March was a special month for us. Not only was it OwlCrate Jr’s 4th anniversary, we got to celebrate some of the largest animals in the world! We’ve brought along some friends to help us and you’re here too!

Elephanatics is an elephant advocacy organization based in Vancouver, BC, Canada that offers free educational programs all about elephant conservations. We spoke to President and co-founder, Fran Duthie all about how elephants fight climate change and how you can be an advocate too.

Fran: We are thrilled to be a part of your fabulous ‘Elephants on Parade‘ box! Thank you!
Kellie: Thank you! Climate change is an important issue for everyone and you share on your site that elephants help fight global warming! Can you tell us more about this?
F: The large appetites and feeding habits of African forest elephants lead to more plant mass which stores more carbon to help mitigate climate change. Our Lesson plan, One Mouthful at a Time, addresses this in detail. The graphic below illustrates their role in helping keep their ecosystems in balance by controlling the amount of C02 that gets stored and sequestered.

K: Can you share with us something unexpected you have learned about elephants that most people might not know?
F: I was fortunate enough to visit Kenya in 2019 and was overjoyed at viewing elephants in their wild, natural habitats. I was astounded at their ability to move so quietly. We were 10 feet away from a herd grazing on grasses in the savannah and they were so silent you would never have known they were there except their size gave them away!
The African elephant has 5 toenails on its front feet and 4 on its back feet. Their feet are flat because of a large pad of gristle under each heel which acts as a cushion to absorb sound and helps them to walk quietly. It was amazing to see such a huge animal – an average weight of 6,000 kg – gliding through the plains with such ease. A beautiful sight to behold.
K: Wow! The rules around hunting elephants have changed as recently as 2019. How can we learn to speak up for elephants?
Fran: Unfortunately, trophy hunting of elephants is still allowed in certain countries in Africa. Education is the best way to learn how to speak up for elephants.  Holding marches, signing petitions, writing letters to government officials asking for the trade of elephant ivory to be banned in your country, social media involvement, volunteering for an elephant organization, and sharing Elephanatics education lesson plans! These are some of the ways that can help get the word out about the crises facing both the African and Asian elephant.
K: What does becoming Elephant Ambassador for Elephantics entail?
F: It’s as easy as sending us an email saying you would like to get on board and volunteer some of your time to help us save elephants! For more information on becoming an Ambassador, you can visit our volunteer page. We look forward to hearing from you!
K: Letter writing is a great way to advocate. It’s a way most kids can feel involved and advocate, especially in this time when we are all indoors.
F: I agree. We have the lesson plan on Ivory-Free Canada but it is actually a lesson plan that teachers should do with their students. Students learn to compose letters in support of elephant conservation while recognizing letter writing is an important civic action.
It is part of the One Mouthful at a Time Lesson Plan which is a super fantastic lesson plan that deals with how elephants are allies against climate change.
K: Thank you, Fran! 
Find out more and become an elephant advocate on their website or give them a follow on Instagram here.
Our ELEPHANTS ON PARADE box is now available for purchase in our past boxes shop!
Subscribe to OwlCrate Jr today at www.owlcratejr.com!
"Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources."

Elephanatics presents – Ivory Is For Elephants – elephants and their importance to the global community and environment

Published on by elephanatic
"Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources."
The numbers are staggering as we learn that humanity is responsible for a decrease in animal populations worldwide of 68% in the past 50 years.  At a time when more than 1 million animals are at risk of extinction, the links between human health and the health of the planet couldn’t be clearer, as evidenced by our current pandemic. Seventy percent of emerging viral diseases are caused by human/wildlife interface. The biggest issues facing the global community today are losses to biodiversity. Loss of wildlife affects ecosystems we all rely on to keep us healthy. Learn more about how elephants help preserve our natural world and why poaching, human-elephant conflict, and illegal trade is related to our own survival.
Tune in and get inspired to save elephants!
Speakers – Dr. Rene Beyers, PhD / Conservationist / African Elephant Advisor, Elephanatics
Melanie Reding, Educator / Curriculum Developer, Elephanatics
* Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants is an online educational program that aims to inspire the next generation of scientists, explorers and conservationists by bringing science, exploration, adventure and conservation live into classrooms through virtual speakers and field trips with leading experts across the globe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-5-R616REU