World Elephant Day – 12th August
Today is World Elephant Day, a day dedicated to truly appreciate these beautiful animals in all their glory. We can't stress the importance of today enough, as now more than ever it is a fundamental time for us to spread the awareness and look for solutions to preserve the population of elephants!
Elephants truly are some of the most intelligent animals we have the honour to share our planet with. Elephants actually have the capability to stand within 20 minutes of being born and walk after a day, alongside a complex consciousnesses that are capable of strong emotions. Which begs the question, what's happening to the elephant population?
The heart shattering facts speak for themselves, in the past century the elephant population has decreased by 90%, in Africa, there are approximately only 415,000 individuals left, whilst in Asia, a mere 40,000.
That said, across the continent of Africa, they have gained respect from the people that share the same landscape as them, giving elephants strong cultural significance and tourist magnets that attract funding which helps protect wilderness areas.
Yet the ivory trade, accelerating habitat and range loss, have put the Elephant populations at risk of becoming extinct.
The following statement has been taken from the charity Save The Elephants; this puts into perspective how endangered African Elephants are.
The Ivory Trade
"The ivory trade is fuelling organised crime and insecurity as traffickers smuggle tusks through the same networks as other high value illegal goods such as drugs. Ultimately the trade is driven by demand for ivory in consumer countries, mostly in the East, where it is sought after as a status symbol and an investment.”
Alongside the ivory trade, there is climate change to worry about. As the planet gets hotter, the more droughts happen and unfortunately more elephants die because of it. One of the biggest killers of elephants in Myanmar is heatstroke. A number of other traits make them vulnerable too, including susceptibility to a variety of diseases such as tuberculosis, haemorrhagic septicaemia, foot and mouth disease and many more.
All that said, we are so proud at The Customise Company to have used these incredible animals for the inspiration of our soft toy eco-elephants which are 100% eco friendly. Instead of the synthetic fibres, cotton and usual hard plastic eyes, our eco range is made up of 100% recycled fabrics which saves on the unnecessary use of plastic .
On top of this, would you believe it?! It actually takes 59% less energy making recycled polyester for each toy from our eco range!!
There are plenty of charities that support the endangerment of African Elephants, so please take the time to share your support with some of these incredible charities, we've added a few links below:
SaveTheElephants
ElephantVoices
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
For every one of our Eco Elephants sold this month, we will be donating 10% of profits towards our chosen Elephant charity.