World Elephant Day 2025- August 12

World Elephant Day is an annual international campaign observed across the world on August 12 to raise awareness about the preservation and protection of Elephants (Elephantidae) known as the ‘Gentle Giants’ worldwide.

Theme:

2025 Theme: ‘Bringing the world together to help elephants’.

Focus: The theme emphasizes the importance of global unity and collective action to protect elephants worldwide.

Background: 

Conceptualized by: The idea of celebrating World Elephant Day was conceptualized 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.

First Observance: The 1st World Elephant Day was observed by Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation on August 12, 2012.

Species of Elephants:

There are three species of elephants found worldwide:

African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana): Also called the African bush elephant, it is the largest land animal on Earth and is classified as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) Red List.

African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis): This species is smaller and lives in dense forests. It is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus): Found across parts of Asia, this species is also categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Elephants Population:

Reproduction : Elephants experience a lengthy gestation period of 22 months and usually birth one calf every 4–5 years, with the entire herd participating in nurturing and protecting the young.

Loxodonta africana: Approximately 415,000 individuals remain, primarily in East and Southern Africa.

Loxodonta cyclotis:  Estimated at fewer than 50,000.

Elephants in India:

Total Population: According to the 2023 Report on Elephant Corridors, India is home to nearly 60% (29,964) of the world’s wild Asian elephant population, with 33 Elephant Reserves and 150 identified Elephant corridors.

Habitat: Elephants in India are found across 4 regions of the country: the Himalayan foothills in the north; the northeastern states; the forests of east-central India; and the forested parts of Western and Eastern Ghats in southern India.

National Heritage Animal: The Government of India (GoI) has accorded the status of National Heritage Animal of India to Elephants in 2010.

Key Measures Initiated by GoI for Protection of Elephants:

Project Elephant: The GoI launched Project Elephant (PE) as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) in February 1992, aimed to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing states in the country for protection of elephants and their habitats.

• The project is currently being implemented in13 States/Union Territories (UTs) of the country.

Legal Protection: Also, the GoI has classified Elephants under Schedule-I and Part-I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA, 1972), which provides the highest level of protection.

• At global level, Indian elephants have been placed in the Appendix-I of the Convention of the Migratory Species in the Conference of Parties (CoPs) of CMS 13 in February 2020.

Elephant Reserves: As of August 2025, 33 Elephant Reserves (ERs) spanning over an area of about 80,777 square kilometres(sq. km) have been formally notified by various state governments.

Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme: This programme has been mandated by the COP resolution of CITES, was initiated in the South Asia region in 2003.

• States covered in the programme: Chirang Ripu (Assam); Dhang Patki (Assam); Eastern Dooars (West Bengal, WB) Deomali (Arunachal Pradesh, AP); Garo Hills (Meghalaya); Mayurbhanj (Odisha); Mysore (Karnataka); Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu, TN); Shivalik (Uttarakhand); and Wayanad (Kerala).

2025 Events:

Event:  On August 12, 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), in partnership with the Tamil Nadu (TN) Forest Department organised the 2025 World Elephant Celebration in Coimbatore, TN.

Inaugurated by: The event was inaugurated by the Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, MoEF&CC.

Key Dignitaries: Union Minister of State (MoS) Kirti Vardhan Singh, MoEF&CC; Thiru R.S. Rajakannappan, Minister for Forests and Khadi, Government of TN; and senior officials from MoEF&CC, the TN Forest Department, Ministry of Railways (MoR), and other states were present at the event.

Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) Workshop: The event featured a focused workshop on HEC, aimed to provide a platform for elephant range states to share their challenges, experiences and mitigation measures.

• The discussions were mainly centered on habitat management, corridor maintenance, awareness campaigns, and capacity-building in high-conflict areas.

Nationwide Awareness Campaign: A nationwide awareness programme was launched, covering nearly 12 lakh school children from about 5,000 schools to spread awareness about elephant conservation.

12-Foot Long Elephant Sculpture: Renowned sand artist and Padma Shri Awardee, Sudarshan Patnaik commemorated World Elephant Day 2025 by crafting a 12-foot-long sand sculpture of an elephant on Puri beach in Odisha.

• The sculpture features a slogan ‘Save My Habitat’, which highlights the urgent need to protect elephants and their natural habitats.