Take a moment this weekend to see how much YOU know about elephants! This fun, interactive quiz is great for the whole family. Let us know what your score is - Elephantopia scored PLATINUM! That’s because we LOVE ELEPHANTS and are passionate about sharing that love through education. Together, we can create a harmonious future for elephants and humans!
Ever wonder how strong an elephant is?
Ever wonder how elephants play? This is a great clip showing the playful manner in which elephants interact with one another. Happy Weekend!
I love the David Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation. It’s an amazing organization dedicated to rehabilitating Africa’s orphaned elephants due to the poaching crisis. Every Friday they have something called “Foster Friday” where they invite you to help care for an orphaned elephant and protect the future of Africa’s wildlife. I currently foster Naipoki and love every minute of it. I’ve had the blessing of meeting her in person and enjoy my e-updates and photos shared from the trust. It’s a great way to get involved with helping Africa’s elephants! This is a great clip from Jay Leno interviewing Kristin Davis about her story of rescuing an orphaned elephant in 2009.
First Lady Kenayatta with Tundani
It was also exciting this week to learn that Kenya’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on June 18 to meet the orphans and decided to sponsor an ellie: Tundani, a calf, who was estimated to be under a year old when found along the Tiva River in Tsavo East National Park last year. This is the FIRST Kenyan official to publically take personal interest in the crisis facing Kenya’s elephants. See more photograph, watch a short video about Kenyatta’s experience and read details HERE.
Do you ever wonder if signing letters and sending tweets really makes a difference? Well, last week CNN’s polls shows that YOUR VOICE MATTERS! Illegal Wildlife Trade is now going to be a no.2 issue covered by this world-wide news source. That’s huge! Here are two more ways to get involved this week and have your voice heard for the elephants:
1. Join the Wildlife Conservation Society and send a note to your legislature asking them to NOT cut funding on programs designed to protect elephants and other wildlife. Click on this link or the picture below to send your note today! 
2. Call/Tweet/Email President Obama as he prepares for his 8 day trip to Africa later this month and ask him to address the issue of poaching. Poaching is directly linked to terrorism, funds militia groups like Kony’s Child Soldiers contributing to political instability in Africa. Poaching affects people, with hundreds of people dying each year either as rangers protecting wildlife, innocent civilians caught in the middle of gunfire, or poachers themselves in bush-battles. It’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed (as Hilary Clinton and John Kerry have already noted).
E-Mail your comments: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
Leave a phone message with comments: 202-456-1111
Tweet your comments: @BarackObama Please talk poaching/and wild life trafficking when you visit Africa. Elephants & Rhinos are being decimated!#rhino#elephant
Thank you to each and every one of you who voted in CNN’s poll on what should be covered: illegal wildlife trade came in no. 2! I look forward to hearing more stories about elephants covered in widespread media because of this, because of YOU! Thank you!
1. America’s widening rich-poor gap (16,789 votes)
2. Illegal animal trade (13,276 votes)
3. Where rape is most common (12,996)
Photograph shared from National Geographic
This Monday it seems there is a LOT going on in the world of elephant news! Here are a few snippets to keep you updated:
This Father’s Day we celebrate fathers everywhere: their protection, their love, their guidance. Enjoy the photographs below and the video of an elephant bull saving an orphaned baby as you celebrate the fathers in your life today.
(please note, we claim no ownership of the videos and photographs posted here)
