Hi there!
To coincide with World Elephant Day on the 12th of August 2023, we were inspired to share some fun facts about elephants, as well as how we can help in the conservation efforts of these majestic creatures. To use craftivism as a way to raise awareness for this special day we also designed and developed our first ever pattern!! Meet Eunice!
Fun facts about elephants
Elephants are an iconic species as they are the world’s largest terrestrial animal. There are three main subspecies of elephants, namely the African bush elephant (also known as the Savannah elephant), the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. These beautiful creatures are found in pockets throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and have several interesting qualities:
🐘 Complex social structures: Adult male elephants live separate lives to females and calves, while females live their entire lives in matrilineal family groups.
🐘 Pregnancy: Elephants have extremely long gestational periods, lasting anywhere from one and a half to two years! After giving birth, female elephants will not give birth for at least another four years.
🐘 Sociability: Elephants are highly social animals and communicate in a variety of ways with one another. One way elephants communicate is by rubbing bodies together to show care.
🐘 Intelligence: Elephants are among the most intelligent animals in the world. They are known to use tools, recognise themselves in reflections and have long-lasting memories of their environments.
🐘 Complex social structures: Adult male elephants live separate lives to females and calves, while females live their entire lives in matrilineal family groups.
History of human relations with elephants
Throughout history elephants have played roles of varying significance among cultures who had contact with them. For some cultures, elephants hold cultural significance. The most well-known example of this is the Hindu god Ganesh, who is depicted as having a human body and an elephant’s head and is one of the most important deities in Hinduism. Another example is the Mbuti people from Central Africa, who believe that the souls of their ancestors live within elephants.
Elephants have also served as working animals, doing heavy lifting and transportation tasks for humans. Unfortunately, working elephants often endure cruelty and mistreatment. The admiration for elephants also resulted in the animals featuring in zoos and circuses, where they can also experience cruelty, and even shorter lifespans. While some zoos do their best to treat their animals well and educate zoogoers, conditions aren’t always favourable.
Conservation concerns
Unfortunately, despite human’s admiration for these beautiful animals, the conservation of elephants is a major concern. Asian elephants and African bush elephants are now classified as an endangered species, while African forest elephants are critically endangered. The reasons for the worrying conservation status of elephants can be attributed to human activity.
The primary threats elephants in the wild face are poaching, habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation. Despite efforts to end elephant poaching, the illegal ivory trade has meant that the practice continues to this day. This, along with agriculture and urbanisation, has meant that elephant habitats have are shrinking and becoming increasingly fragmented.
What is World Elephant Day?
World Elephant Day was founded in 2012, in a joint initiative between Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand. The initiative aims to raise awareness of the challenges impacting elephants and has partnerships with over 100 elephant conservation organisations around the world.
In the words of Patricia Sims, co-founder of World Elephant Day: “World Elephant Day is a rallying call for people to support organizations that are working to stop the illegal poaching and trade of elephant ivory and other wildlife products, protect wild elephant habitat, and provide sanctuaries and alternative habitats for domestic elephants to live freely.”
How can you help?
To help support this amazing cause, World Elephant Day provides several great opportunities to take action. You can either donate to the organisation’s cause, which will help ensure World Elephant Day can continue in the future. You can also participate by raising awareness yourself and informing others about the issues affecting elephants and how they can help. Finally, you can sign the pledge on the World Elephant Day homepage to support a world that protects elephants, wildlife and their habitat.
To find out more about the day and how to get involved, visit the World Elephant Day website. If you’re interested in making your very own amigurumi elephant, please check out the pattern in our Etsy shop!