World Elephant Day is an annual international campaign observed across the globe on 12 August to raise awareness about the preservation and protection of Elephants(Elephantidae), the ‘Gentle Giants‘ worldwide.
- The day also highlights the threats faced by the Elephants, including poaching, habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, etc.
Theme:
The theme for World Elephant Day 2024 is “Personifying Prehistoric Beauty, Theological Relevance, and Environmental Importance”.
- The 2024 theme highlights the multifaceted significance of elephants in various cultures and ecosystems while promoting their protection and conservation.
Background:
i.The idea of celebrating World Elephant Day was given by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clarke of Canazwest Pictures and Sivaporn Dardarananda, Secretary General of the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation in Thailand, in 2011.
ii.The 1st World Elephant Day was officially founded, supported, and launched by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation,Bangkok(Thailand) on August 12, 2012.
Species of Elephant :
There are 3 species of elephants occur in the world namely,
1.African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana):
- The African Savanna Elephant, also known as the African bush elephant, is the largest land animal in the world.
- It is listed as Endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
2.African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis):
It is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
3.Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus):
It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Key Facts:
i.According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates, currently, there are about 4,15,000 numbers of elephants in Africa.
ii.The African Bush elephant inhabits the savannah grasslands of Southern and Eastern Africa, making up 70% of the total population on the continent.
iii.Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, and Zimbabwe together account for more than half of the African bush elephant population.
iv.With 130,000 bush elephants, (about half of the region’s numbers) Botswana has the most elephants of any country on Earth.
v.Zimbabwe has the second-largest bush elephant population at about 100,000, followed by Tanzania (60,000).
Elephant Population in India:
i.India is home to over 60% of the Wild Asian Elephant populations globally.
ii.A decade ago, India’s wild elephant population was about 1 million. The drastic decline is largely due to poaching, a major issue across Asia.
iii.Wild elephants in India are found across 4 regions: the Himalayan foothills in the north, the northeastern states, the forests of east-central India, and the forested Western and Eastern Ghats in southern India.
iv.India has been conducting elephant censuses every 5 years since 2022 to estimate the wild elephant population using the direct count and dung count methods.
v.According to the census conducted in 2017, India has 29,964 elephants spread across an area of 110,000 square kilometers, of which 65,000 square kilometers constitute India’s 33 elephant reserves.
Note: The Elephant was declared the National Heritage Animal of India in 2010.
2024 Events in India:
Two United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) natural heritage sites namely, Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) and Manas National Park in Assam celebrated World Elephant Day 2024 with events dedicated to elephant conservation.
- During the event, Bubul Gogoi, a mahout at KNPTR, was posthumously honoured with the Gaj Gaurav Award 2024, for his significant contributions to the Assam Forest Department and wildlife conservation.
HaatiApp Mobile App & Solar Fence Manual Launched to Mitigate Human-Elephant Conflicts in Assam
Aaranyak, a biodiversity organisation in Assam has launched a Mobile Application (App) named ‘HaatiApp‘ and a comprehensive Solar Fence Manual in Assamese, to address the Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Assam and Northeast India, at an event held in Guwahati, Assam.
- Launched by Nandita Garlosa, Minister of Power of Assam, to aid in HEC mitigation and to foster peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants.
About HaatiApp:
i.The HaatiApp was developed with support from the SBI(State Bank of India) Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the State Bank Group.
ii.It will serve as an early warning system and streamline the process for HEC-affected individuals to submit ex-gratia claims.
iii.The Global Positioning System (GPS) feature in ‘HaatiApp’ will help wildlife conservationists get the exact location of the animal when it wanders in a forest.
iv.The app also contains the ex-gratia application form for damages caused by wild elephants.
- The forest departments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Chhattisgarh have this app.
About Solar Fence Manual:
i.The handbook on solar-powered fences, compiled in Assamese by Aaranyak official Anjan Baruah, has detailed information for the installation, management, and maintenance of solar fences.
ii.Supported by the British Asian Trust and Darwin Initiative, this manual is designed for grassroots community members, forest department personnel, and contractor firms involved in solar fence management.
