World Elephant Day 2019

WORLD ELEPHANT DAY

On August 12, World Elephant Day is celebrated to conserve and protects elephants from numerous threats they face now a days. On 12thAugust, 2012 the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephant, to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants. African elephants are listed as “Vulnerable” where as Asian elephants are listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Human-elephant conflict is a significant concern, as human population’s increases and forest cover decreases, forcing elephants into close proximity with human settlements. Incidents include crop damage and economic losses, as well as both elephant and human casualties. Poaching of elephants for ivory is a serious threat in some parts of Asia. Poaching of tuskers impacts on sex ratios that become highly female biased; genetic variation is reduced, and fecundity and recruitment may decline. Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus ) is listed on CITES Appendix I. Project Elephant was launched in 1992 by the Government of India Ministry of Environment and Forests to provide financial and technical support of wildlife management efforts by states for their free ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.

The project aims to ensure long-term survival of viable conservation reliant populations of elephants in their natural habitats by protecting the elephants, their habitats and migration corridors. Other goals of Project Elephant are supporting research of the ecology and management of elephants, creating conservation awareness among local people, providing improved veterinary care for captive elephants.

So, we celebrate World Elephant Day which is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world elephants.

WORLD ELEPHANT DAY CELEBRATION AT NANDANKANAN

World Elephant day 2019 was celebrated at Nandankanan Zoological Park on 12th August, 2019 in the presence of Sri Suresh Kumar Routray, Hon’ble, MLA, Jatani, Khordha, Sri Sushanta Kumar Rout, Hon’ble, MLA, Bhubaneswar (North), Khordha, Dr Ajay Kumar Mohapatra, (IFS), PCCF (WL) & CWLW, Odisha, Sri Shashi Paul, (IFS) Director, Nandankanan Biological Park and Sri Jayant Kumar Das, Deputy Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park. The members of NWCSO (Nature & Wildlife Conservation Society of Odisha) have also participated in this awareness programme. The celebration was observed with a mass awareness programme amongst the visitors, students from different schools, guides and staffs of Nandankanan with a message for elephant conservation. The elephants were received a special treat of coconut, banana, sugarcane, maize, water melon and apple. The mahouts were also felicitated in the auspicious occasion for their hard work. A meeting was convened and the prizes have been distributed to the winners of Sit & Draw competition which was organized previously. The Vote of Thanks was given by Sri Jayant Kumar Das, Deputy Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park.