Elephant Awareness

How do you raise awareness on the issue of the ivory trade?

This weekend I traveled home. It gave me the opportunity to share my passion for elephants and the dire predicament they are currently in due to poaching. I shared teaser videos from National Geographic’s upcoming series “Battle for the Elephants” that is airing on PBS  this upcoming Wednesday evening (check your local listings for time and be sure to tune in!) We discussed how politicians like Hillary Clinton and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio are getting involved with the fight to save elephants. And over beers at a local brew pub we debated on why EVERYONE should care about this issue, not just the “animal lovers and tree huggers.” I wasn’t sure if they were engaging because they really cared, or just because I really care and they are my family. But then, this happened.

We had just finished cheering on my husband as he ran a 50K entitled “Elephant Mountain Run.” (It had nothing to do with elephants, but it was serendipitous!) To celebrate his success (he finished 3rd!) we went out for lunch. As we left, my Dad noticed a sign and said, “Weren’t we just talking about this? Look at this sign!”

No one could believe how just days earlier we were talking about this issue, debating whether or not it had an impact on our lives here so far away from Africa. Then the topic was reinforced by this poster, that they may not have otherwise even noticed.

So have you shared the poaching crisis with your family? With your friends? Why not start by showing some of the posts from this blog to them. And tune in to the documentary on Wednesday evening. Ask your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter to LIKE/FOLLOW Elephantopia and other organizations supporting the demise of the ivory trade. Together, we can kill the trade that kills elephants.