. WORLD ELEPHANT DAY World Elephant Day is a global event that occurs on August 12 each year. This global day raises awareness about elephant welfare, habitat loss, poaching, and protection of elephants. We are also celebrating elephants as one of the world’s most majestic animals to walk the earth. Ancient Elephants The evolution of elephants can be traced by to the Cenozoic Era, which began around 66 million years ago. However, some archeologists believe the elephant species actually dates back to 56 million years ago during the Eocene epoch era. Like all other living creatures, elephants did evolve over time. For example, ancient proboscideans (elephant species) varied in size. In fact, proboscideans were a fairly small in size measuring less than 6 feet long and weighing around 200 pounds. During the Pleistocene epoch era, we saw a rise in the size of elephants. In fact, the widely known Mammoth stood about 15 feet tall. Interestingly, modern day elephants resemble the Mammoth the most. The difference between a Mammoth and a modern elephant is physical changes have occurred over time to adapt to their environment. Did You Know? Elephants have around 150,000 muscles in there trunks, making it the most sensitive organ of any living creature Elephants face a variety of challenges and dangers every day. Some of those dangers are environmental factors, while other factors are due to human activities. 5 Reasons Elephants Are In Danger Poaching: There is a huge illegal market for elephant body parts, including tusks, teeth, bones, skin, and meat. Unfortunately, poaching elephants has led to a significant decline in elephants, especially in African countries. Captivity: Asian elephants are often kept in captivity for a variety of reasons, including tourism and entertainment. Captivity of elephants prevents natural breeding, which is a contributing factor to the decline of elephants. Human-Elephant Conflict: Humans and elephants come in contact with each other more frequently than people realize. Loss of habitat forces elephants to roam in areas where food is available, causing human violence against elephants and vise-versa. Loss of Natural Habitat: As cities and towns expand and grow, the natural of habitat of elephants is lost. Many elephants migrate to new feeding grounds, while most feed on food and agriculture of these newly places. Sadly, many elephants are violently attacked because they don’t understand the rules of humans. Cultural/Religion: Many cultures believe specific parts of an elephant are necessary to perform rituals. Many cultures illegally kill elephants to obtain the necessary items.

Posted by Boomerbeek at 2023-08-12 16:11:26 UTC