Tag: ecology

Empowering youth to speak up for wildlife: Our Back-to-School launch

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Empowering Tomorrow’s Change-Makers Today 🍁🐘

As students across British Columbia return to the classroom this September, Elephanatics, in partnership with World Elephant Day, is launching our most crucial educational initiative yet: the Wildlife Crime Civic Action Student Toolkit.

Wildlife trafficking is one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world, threatening keystone species like African elephants and destabilizing fragile ecosystems. Real change requires systemic international policy—and our youth have a vital role to play in driving that conversation.

Why This Matters to Every Single One of Us 🌍

It is easy to view wildlife trafficking strictly as an animal welfare issue, but wildlife crime is environmental crime. Elephants and other keystone species are the vital pillars holding entire ecosystems together—ecosystems that produce our clean air, store carbon, maintain soil health, and protect global water cycles.

When criminal syndicates strip ecosystems of their natural biodiversity, they accelerate ecological collapse, increase human exposure to zoonotic diseases, and threaten local communities dependent on natural resources. Fighting for a global UNTOC Wildlife Crime Protocol isn’t just about protecting iconic species; it is about defending the natural systems that sustain human life and safeguarding our shared planet against organized environmental destruction.

A Free, Hands-On Resource for Secondary Classrooms 📚

Designed for Grades 6–12 Science, Social Studies, and English Language Arts, this interdisciplinary resource connects classroom learning directly with real-world civic engagement.

Through engaging modules, students will explore:

  • 🌾 Environmental Crime & Ecosystems: How transnational wildlife trafficking destabilizes global ecosystems, economic security, and public health.

  • 🌐 Organized Crime Syndicates: How multi-billion-dollar criminal networks exploit legal gaps across international borders.

  • ✍️ Civic Action & Democracy: The power of democratic participation through targeted advocacy letter-writing to Canadian government leaders.

Why the Timing Matters ⏳

This October, world leaders are gathering for a major global summit on international organized crime. Ahead of this critical summit, Canadian students have a unique window of opportunity to make their voices heard by writing directly to decision-makers and Members of Parliament, advocating for stronger global laws to shut down wildlife trafficking networks.

How You Can Help Drive Immediate Impact 🚀

Whether you are an educator, parent, or supporter, here is how you can help us reach classrooms this fall:

  • 📣 Share the Toolkit with Teachers: Pass our free curriculum package along to secondary educators, science coordinators, or school principals in your community.

  • 📥 Download the Materials: Explore the lesson plan and letter-writing guides directly on our website.

  • 🌐 Spread the Word: Share our campaign link on social media to build momentum.

👉 Access the Free UNTOC Student Toolkit Here: https://elephanatics.org/untoc-toolkit/#BTS

Thank you for continuing to stand with us as we empower the next generation of global citizens to protect our planet’s wildlife.

Warm regards,

Fran Duthie

President, Elephanatics

Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographical Society

International Day for Biological Diversity

Published on by elephanatic

The Value of Nature: How Real-Time Data is Unlocking the Future of Biodiversity

Following yesterday’s International Day for Biological Diversity, we are keeping the momentum going by reflecting on a massive paradigm shift currently underway in how the world calculates wealth. For decades, the global economy has treated nature as an infinite, free resource. We calculated the economic value of a forest by the price of its timber, and the value of an ecosystem by the land cleared for development.

But conservationists and forward-thinking economists are asking a fundamental question: What if we structurally value a living, breathing ecosystem more than a destroyed one?

In a recent, high-profile feature by Fortune, our director, Dr. JakeWall, CEO Wildlife Dynamics, pulled back the curtain on how advanced technology is turning this concept into a reality. By leveraging EarthRanger—a revolutionary data platform utilizing real-time visualization and predictive AI tracking—we aren’t just protecting wildlife on the ground; we are building the financial foundation needed to fund global conservation forever.

Moving From “Reactive” to “Proactive” Protection

At its core, EarthRanger acts as the central nervous system for vast, vulnerable landscapes. It integrates data from satellite collars, ranger patrol radios, camera traps, and weather monitors into a single, live map.

As the Fortune piece highlights, this allows field teams to shift from a reactive state (discovering a poaching incident after it occurs) to a proactive state. If an elephant stops moving unexpectedly, or if an asset behaves abnormally, the AI flags it instantly. It coordinates frontline rangers, mitigates human-wildlife conflict before it impacts local communities, and keeps wildlife safe.

EarthRanger and Biodiversity Credit Markets

You have likely heard of carbon credits, but biodiversity credit markets are the next frontier. Under this framework, companies, governments, and philanthropists invest directly in the preservation of specific habitats.

The catch? Investors want proof. They need to know that if they fund a square kilometer of African savannah, that ecosystem is actually staying intact; that the elephant populations are thriving, and the biodiversity is being protected.

But having this mountain of precise, undeniable data does something even more profound. It solves the biggest obstacle holding back global funding for conservation: providing absolute proof to investors that their money is actually saving wildlife!

Because EarthRanger tracks landscape data continuously, it provides the transparent, up-to-date verification that financial markets require. We can now prove, with definitive data, that a protected area is being managed effectively.

Nature = Value

As Jake perfectly summarized in his interview, long-term wildlife protection requires a fundamental rewrite of how global financial markets perceive the natural world.

“If you can’t value it, you can’t protect it. We have to change the macroeconomics so that nature equals value.” > — Dr. Jake Wall, Fortune

When we give global markets a verifiable, data-backed mechanism to invest in living nature, protecting an elephant or a pristine migratory corridor ceases to be a charitable expense—it becomes a measurable, protected, and valuable asset to the world.

The Path Forward

Integrating cutting-edge data science with on-the-ground enforcement isn’t just a tech upgrade—it is an absolute necessity for the future of landscape rewilding and species protection. We are incredibly proud of Jake and the entire EarthRanger team for earning this well-deserved global recognition on the pages of Fortune.

As a community, your support allows us to champion these frontrunner technologies. The future of conservation isn’t just about fighting to stop the loss; it’s about building a world where a thriving planet is recognized as our most valuable asset.

*** 👉 Click Here to Read the Full Fortune Magazine Feature

Donate

Fran Duthie > President and Co-founder, Elephanatics

Elephanatics Foundation - Fighting elephant poaching and transnational wildlife crime through the UNTOC Protocol

🐘 Elephanatics | November 2025 Newsletter

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November: The Global Battle for Elephants is On!

 Support Through Giving Tuesday December 2nd

"Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources."Photo credit – Francine Lebel-Carruthers

Greetings from the herd at Elephanatics!

For over a decade, we at Elephanatics Foundation have been powering bold elephant advocacy across Canada and Africa. Our mission is clear and drives everything we do: educate, conserve, and take action for elephants and the ecosystems they inhabit.

Why Elephants Matter

How We Take Action: From Savanna to Policy Table

  • Frontline Conservation: Our sustained partnership with the Mara Elephant Project  (MEP) in Kenya connects your support to life-saving work, including funding anti-poaching patrols, utilizing GPS collars for real-time tracking, and implementing human-elephant conflict mitigation strategies.
  • Historic Policy Win: We lead influential policy campaigns — for example, the Ivory-Free Canada coalition that successfully implemented a historic ban on the elephant ivory trade in Canada in November 2023. Read more here
  • Public Awareness: We provide educational resources and raise public awareness, making elephant protection a cause people can engage with, not just observe. Find resources here
  • Fundraising & Amplification: We actively fundraise for specific, high-impact conservation needs (like our World elephant Day support for MEP’s Loita Forest project). Critically, for Giving Tuesday on December 2nd, we will amplify MEP’s urgent field work across our channels, encouraging our supporters to donate directly here to their frontline efforts.

What’s Coming Up: CITES CoP20

From November 24 to December 5, 2025, representatives from 185 countries will gather in Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the 20th meeting of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Elephanatics Foundation has submitted a position letter to Canada’s Scientific Management Authority outlining opposition arguments to Proposals by African countries wanting to reopen the ivory trade. The cost to elephants for any renewed trade would be catastrophic, as a legal market would inevitably provide cover for illegal poaching, creating a devastating surge in demand that would once again drive elephant populations toward extinction.

Ongoing Policy Work

We continue to work in collaboration with other global NGOs, sending letters to MPs and Federal Ministers regarding the urgent need for an additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.The 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) is scheduled to take place in October 2026 in Vienna, Austria. We will continue to advocate on this critical topic more aggressively.

A Final Call to Action

Elephanatics Foundation is turning the tide for elephants — from classrooms in Canada and the US to the savannas of Africa — by merging education with on-the-ground conservation and policy power. With the global spotlight shifting to the critical negotiations at CITES CoP20 this November, the time to support organizations working against the reopening of the ivory trade is critical. This makes Giving Tuesday (December 2nd) an excellent time to provide the vital funds these organizations need to continue their advocacy work and protect the future of the species. Donate directly to MEP’s frontline efforts here.

Thank You

We thank you for being a committed Elephanatics follower. Whether through sharing our posts or donating on Giving Tuesday, December 2nd, you are a vital partner in our fight to secure a future free of the ivory trade. We are deeply grateful for your continued advocacy and support.

🐘 The Elephanatics Team 

Don’t forget to follow us on our other social media platforms: https://linktr.ee/elephanatics

 

Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources.

World Elephant Day is August 12th

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"Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources."

Until August 12th, every dollar you donate to Mara Elephant Project through this fundraiser will be matched by Elephanatics up to a total of $1200!

World Elephant Day is a day that brings the world together to help elephants. This year Elephanatics is partnering with the Mara Elephant Project for WED to raise awareness and funds for the Loita Forest that forms the eastern part of the Greater Mara Ecosystem and is home to not just elephants, but many rare species. The virgin, old-growth, afro-montane forest is one of the most beautiful and intact forests in East Africa. The forest faces significant threats, particularly from current subdivision of communal to private title deed ownership. This subdivision is causing land use change which accelerates the destruction of the forest jeopardizing the wildlife residing within and the surrounding rangelands. Importantly, the rangelands serve as crucial protective buffers and movement corridors for elephants and other wildlife.
A unique opportunity is available for MEP to purchase 1,000 acres or 100 high-value parcels adjacent to the forest core, near wetlands or within corridors, to put into a Conservation Land Trust. Owning these parcels would create a figurative mote that surrounds the 58% of the forest that is community owned, less inhabited, but still at risk of destruction. It also ensures MEP jurisdiction in perpetuity providing a permanent barrier where MEP can enforce forest protection effectively blocking illegal habitat destruction activity from reaching the 58% of the forest.
Their goal is to raise $100,000 in August, which would take them over halfway toward their project funding goal in 2025.
Your much needed donations will be matched and will fund critical activities to protect this area.
We thank you for your continued support. Please donate at: rb.gy/7k17mg
Mara Elephant Project USA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to supporting the efforts of Mara Elephant Project to protect elephants and their habitats across the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Kenya.
Visit their website at https://maraelephantproject.org for more information.
Thank you.
The Elephanatics Team

Elephanatics Newsletter July 2025

Published on by elephanatic

The Elephant Days of Summer!

Summer is here, a time for relaxation and reflection.  Here are some wins and good news on our radar for our elephant lovers!

The Fran Duthie African Elephant Conservation Scholarship application for 2025 is now open and will be administered by the Mara Elephant Project. Accepting applications until the end of July, this scholarship provides financial support, and hands-on training for Kenyan students. The scholarship is intended for students pursuing conservation or a related field. The goal of this scholarship is to provide financial support to Kenyan nationals acquiring a technical certificate, undergraduate or postgraduate degree in an area related to conservation and the protection of wildlife. Alongside the financial support, this scholarship will provide practical experience to the scholar during their studies by undertaking a 1-month internship with a Kenyan conservation organization. 

Apply today -> https://buff.ly/haSKLIw

We’re thrilled to share that The Mara Elephant Project is currently hosting recipient Mary Wangari at HQ  for a one-month internship. Read more here.  

It takes a village! A big elephantine thank you to Vegan Supply for once again letting us be their ‘jar donation’ recipient for the month of June. With their support we were able to raise funds to support our education and conservation programs. Vegan Supply is one of North America’s largest vegan online marketplaces.

Mark Your Calendars! August 12th is World Elephant Day!

#worldelephantday is a day that brings the world together to help elephants. This year Elephanatics is partnering with the Mara Elephant Project for WED to raise awareness and funds for the Loita Forest that forms the eastern part of the Greater Mara Ecosystem and is home to not just elephants but many rare species. The virgin, old-growth, afro-montane forest is one of the most beautiful and intact forests in East Africa. The forest faces significant threats, particularly from current subdivision of communal to private title deed ownership. This subdivision is causing land use change which accelerates the destruction of the forest jeopardizing the wildlife residing within and the surrounding rangelands. Your much needed donations will be matched and will fund critical activities to protect this area. Donate here. 

Advocacy Alert

Working in collaboration with other global NGOs the Elephanatics team has sent letters to MPs and Federal Ministers regarding the urgent need for a global agreement, taking the form of an additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) to tackle the illegal wildlife trade.
Supporting the work of Global Initiative to end Wildlife Crime, Elephanatics will continue to engage and advocate for urgent action to be taken to bring to fruition a global treaty to combat the illegal trade by integrating offences into international criminal law. Read more here.

Fun Fact!

How can you tell the difference between elephant and mammoth ivory? To save elephant populations from extinction, the international community banned the sale of their ivory—but selling mammoth ivory remains legal, and the two are difficult to tell apart, especially for non-experts. This leaves a possible loophole for sellers of poached ivory to exploit. Now stable isotope analysis could provide a cheap, rapid option to speed up sample screening and stop the sale of elephant ivory! Read more here.

(Photo credit: Unsplash CCo Public Domain)

Enjoy the rest of the summer everyone!

Elephanatics Team

Elephanatics May 2025 Newsletter

Published on by elephanatic

A Gentle Rumble from Elephanatics 

Greetings Elephant Enthusiasts!

In Vancouver, the days are getting longer, bursting with spring green, and across the globe magnificent elephants continue their ancient journeys. Elephanatics works hard to encourage education about these amazing creatures within schools, the community, and online. We believe that understanding these incredible creatures is the first step towards protecting them. Join us as we explore the fascinating world of elephants!

This Month’s Focus: The Power of Memory

Elephants are renowned for their incredible memories, and it’s more than just folklore! Their complex social structures and survival depend heavily on their ability to remember vital information.

  • Watering Holes and Migration Routes: Elephants can recall the locations of distant watering holes and traditional migration paths, knowledge passed down through generations. This is crucial for navigating vast landscapes and surviving in challenging environments.
  • Social Bonds: They recognize family members and other individuals within their social groups, even after long separations. This memory underpins their intricate social lives and cooperative behaviours.
  • Threat Recognition: Elephants can remember specific threats, such as the scent or appearance of predators or past encounters with humans, allowing them to react appropriately and protect themselves and their young.
  • Learning and Adaptation: Young elephants learn essential survival skills by observing and remembering the actions of their elders, highlighting the importance of matriarchal knowledge.

Did You Know? Studies have shown that elephants can even differentiate between the voices and scents of different human groups, potentially remembering those who pose a threat versus those who are harmless.

Conservation Corner: Understanding Habitat Loss

One of the biggest threats facing elephants today is the loss and fragmentation of their natural habitats. This month, we want to shed light on why this is so critical:

  • Shrinking Spaces: As human populations grow and land is converted for agriculture, infrastructure, and development, the areas available for elephants to roam freely are shrinking.
  • Increased Conflict: Habitat loss often leads to increased encounters between elephants and humans, resulting in conflict over resources and safety for both.
  • Disrupted Migration: When traditional migration routes are blocked, elephants can be cut off from vital resources like water and food, impacting their survival.
  • Ecosystem Impact: The loss of elephant habitat also has a ripple effect on entire ecosystems, as elephants play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity. They are a keystone species.

Upcoming Events:

  • Our African Elephant Specialist, Dr Rene Beyers, will be giving an online presentation May 23, with Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, VP of Education, Jesse Hildebrand. Don’t miss this exciting educational broadcast on Rewilding and its global importance in saving wildlife and ecosystems!

Wildlife Conservation Conferences / Symposiums coming up in May and July:

  • Canadian Environmental Crime Symposium (CECRN) (May 8th and 9th – 9am-5:30EDT) Launch of the first CECRN. Presented online or in person. Topics include transnational environmental crime, organized crime and environmental crime convergences, poaching, trafficking, crime journalism and more. Registration is free. https://lnkd.in/ere2pB2S
  • Global Conference on Environmental and Biological Science (GCEBS) (May 16-18, 2025): Taking place in Vancouver, Canada. This conference covers a broad range of topics, including conservation biology and biodiversity conservation. To be held at The University of British Columbia, located at 800 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC V6Z 3B7, Canada, in Room C215. 
  • Annual International Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association (July 27 – August 1, 2025): This conference focuses on wildlife health and its connection to conservation. Held at 720 Douglas St, Victoria BC, V8W 3M7, Canada.

What Can You Do? Supporting organizations like Elephanatics helps fund initiatives that work to protect and restore elephant habitats through anti-poaching efforts, community engagement, and advocating for conservation policies such as rewilding. 

Get Involved!

  • Share the Knowledge: Help us spread awareness by sharing this newsletter and facts about elephants with your friends and family.
  • Follow Us on Social Media: Stay up-to-date with our latest news, photos, and educational content on Facebook / Instagram / Threads / X and our website elephanatics.org
  • Join our community of dedicated elephant advocates! We need volunteers of all kinds! Contact us @ elephanatics.org/volunteer
  • Consider a Donation: Your contribution, no matter the size, directly supports our educational programs and conservation efforts. Visit elephanatics.org/donate
  • OR donate to the Fran Duthie African Elephant Scholarship. The goal of this scholarship is to provide financial support to Kenyan nationals acquiring a technical certificate, undergraduate or postgraduate (Masters or PhD) degree in an area related to conservation and the protection of wildlife. Donations go to maraelephantproject.org/donate

Thank you for continuing to be a vital part of Elephanatics community. Together, we can ensure a future where elephants thrive.

Until next time, enjoy the longer days and sunshine!

The Team at Elephanatics
elephanaticsinfo@gmail.com

Elephanatics Foundation - Free elephant conservation lesson plans, toolkits for teachers, and persuasive essay resources.

A Triumphant Recognition! A huge Congratulations!

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Group of African elephants in the wild

 

It is with great pride and excitement to announce that Dr. Jake Wall, co-founder of Elephanatics and EarthRanger, has been awarded the Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographic Society Prize for 2025 – an honour recognizing outstanding individual achievement in the pursuit and application of geographical research, with a particular emphasis on wildlife conservation and environmental research studies.

“Dr Wall has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to create freely available geospatial tools for the benefit of wildlife conservation in Africa and beyond for the last 20 years. Jake’s dedication and passion for wildlife is matched only by his tireless efforts to provide conservationists with the tools and methods they need to better protect the natural world.His approach has been methodical and detailed focusing on the benefits, not only to the natural landscape, but the communities that live along side these majestic animals.

As Director of Research and Conservation for the Mara Elephant Project (MEP), Jake established a long-term elephant monitoring programme and developed an application to easily map landscapes, especially fences, which have become a major threat to wildlife movements in the Mara ecosystem. Prior to working with MEP, Jake worked as the Geospatial Scientific Advisor to Save the Elephants for 15 years where he developed a real-time tracking system to visualise GPS data from collared African elephants across the continent. Algorithms scanned the data and, among other things, sent alerts when elephants had moved unusually fast, suggesting panic, or had stopped moving which might indicate a poaching event. In partnership with Save the Elephants and the Allen Institute for AI, this system was expanded into EarthRanger, now used by over 600 sites across 74 countries and growing rapidly.

To complement EarthRanger, Jake is now leading the development of Ecoscope, which provides users with access to ready-made analytics from sources of publicly available remote sensing data. It allows researchers and conservationists to easily engage with the data and generate meaningful outputs, thereby turning conservation data into information to improve decision making, insight and the protection of ecosystems.”

Congratulations Jake! You are very deserving of such a prestigious acknowledgement. Team Elephanatics is extremely proud of all your hard work and devotion to protecting the greatest animal ever created!

The elephants trumpet! 🐘

EarthRanger EcoScope

 

Happy News for the First Month of 2025!

Published on by elephanatic

Elephanatics is very pleased to share the most recent updates from the four recipients of the Fran Duthie Scholarship administered by our partner organization, Mara Elephant Project, in Kenya.

Learn about the exciting work these students are undertaking in conservation related fields. By securing an education for the next generation in wildlife conservation, we are helping to secure a healthy future for our planet as well. We wish them continued success with their programs!

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can support the scholarship fund in 2025, please email us or make a donation today. 

#maraelephantproject

An Update from the Four Recipients of the Fran Duthie Scholarship

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Holidays from Elephanatics!

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Another year over and what have we done?

In the words of Charles Dickens;

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.”

All year long elephant conservation organizations work compassionately and conscientiously to make the world a better place for elephants – proving that, with consistent efforts, the essence of the holiday spirit is manifested through their accomplishments. The whole planet reaps the benefit of natures tending and the charitable giving of those who have supported these efforts. For this, we are extremely grateful and thankful to all of you who have been part of our success in reaching our goals to broaden our outreach in education and advocacy awareness campaigns for elephants during the year.

Throughout 2024 there has been several positive conservation efforts made globally by organizations to increase protection for elephants. Some include:

  • Strengthened Anti-Poaching efforts
  • Habitat Protection and Restoration efforts
  • Collaboration with other conservation organizations
  • Community building efforts
  • Research and Monitoring
  • Technology and Innovation – to include the use of drones as a major asset to help protect and monitor elephants
  • Education outreach
  • Policy advocacy

Elephanatics has been proactive at building out our education efforts by collaborating with our partner organization, Mara Elephant Project, in Kenya. We are very excited about this partnership! We offer a variety of FREE educational resources for teachers, educators and students to utilize. Education is key to understanding the problems elephants encounter on a daily basis from poaching, human-elephant conflict and habitat loss, to creating co-existence strategies to counter these issues. The benefits of collaborating with an organization that deals with these concerns is paramount to building capacity and resilience against further threats to elephants and all wildlife. We also continue to support organizations and policymakers that aim to strengthen the international legal framework to prevent and combat wildlife trafficking.

Our wish for you this holiday season is to find peace in the least expected places, use that peace to bring calm to others, and to forge ahead into 2025 with renewed ambitions and hopes.

We thank you for your continued support!

Best Wishes,

The Elephanatics Team