In a move to spread awareness about the plight of elephants and recognize the importance of elephants in our ecosystem, World Elephant Day is celebrated on August 12.

In 2020, then Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu pledged their support to the cause. The theme for World Elephant Day 2020 was ‘Haathi Hamara Saathi’.

On August 12, 2012, the first World Elephant Day was observed, highlighting the plight of Asian and African elephants. The Thai-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation, in collaboration with Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims, organized the event for the day. And since 2012, The Sims has been a leader in World Elephant Day.

According to recent data of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), there are roughly 440,000 elephants left on the planet. The WWF also revealed that every year around 15,000 elephants are hunted by poachers. It is not only our responsibility to take measures for their conservation but also create awareness about the possible ‘Elephant Extinction.’