An ele-sneeze, will have you saying “Bless you!”
Elephantopia
Save Elephants, Build Community
Monthly Archives: August 2013
They Arrived!
- Yesterday, I received a large box in the mail…with the Houston March for Elephants t-shirts in them! Decided to wear mine today, it fits fantastic and the printing came out great! If you’d like to get one too, please visit http://MarchForElephantsHouston.spreadshirt.com/ (or click the picture below). They are reasonably priced and a percentage of the proceeds go towards the Houston March for Elephants this October 4!
Other exciting news update about the march:
- City Hall has approved the march location - now it’s time to spread the word!
- We have reached our $1,000 fundraising goal (although, if you’d like to give, please go ahead! Anything we do not use for the fundraiser will be donated directly to The David Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation in Kenya. DONATE HERE)
- Working with Different Rhythm Foundation, a nonprofit based in Austin, as they march from Austin to Houston this weekend to raise awareness about poaching. They are also raising funds for the Crosby Project to help elephants in Africa - I look forward to meeting them when they arrive, to prepare for the October March.
- My petition I started earlier this year has almost reached 10K signatures! Yes, that’s 10,000!!! If you haven’t signed it yet, please do so here: http://www.change.org/petitions/say-no-to-using-ivory-in-religious-art (as of Aug 30, 11:10amCST there are only 75 more needed!!!)
Overal it’s been a great adventure advocating for elephants the past few months. I’m excited to see such good fruit from the hard work put in to raising awareness, educating the public about elephants and the poaching crisis, and supporting organizations who are on the ground helping to save elephants! Thank you for your support, together we are making a difference!
Happy Weekend: Cool Off & Have Fun!
Best friends, Bella and Tara enjoy an afternoon in the snow! Hope this cools off your hot summer (for those in the northern hemisphere!)
Shared from the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
When There Were Giants Among Us
This weekend, Different Rhythm Foundation, a nonprofit in Austin, begins a 160 mile walk from Austin to Houston to raise awareness about the elephant poaching crisis. They will arrive sometime Thursday August 29th in Houston, to meet with Elephantopia and prepare for the October March for Elephants Event. Beginning TONIGHT (Friday evening August 23), this gorgeous, one-of-a-kind piece of artwork will be open for auction. To bid, click HERE.
Award Winning, International Wildlife Artist, Sherry Steele, has donated a masterpiece to be auctioned off to push, 9 year old Crosby, to her goal (please read her cause to fully understand). Sherry is the only one in the world to use this pen & ink technique. Sherry mixes & layers her own shades of inks.
The piece is called, “When There Were Giants Among Us”.
Specs: Framed, S/N (signed and numbered), limited edition print on canvas. Overall dimensions are 30” w X 39” h.
HAPPY WEEKEND: Baby’s First Swim
What a sweet video capturing this baby elephant’s first swim with mama!
Walking The Talk
I started this page because I absolutely love elephants. And because right now, human-elephant conflict is driving these beloved creatures to the brink of extinction. Elephantopia is proud to be preparing for the Houston March for Elephants this October (in conjunction with the International March for Elephants organized by The David Sheldrick Wildlife Foundation). We are partnering up with the Houston Zoo Wildlife Foundation, Whole Foods Kirby, and most recently, the Different Rhythm Foundation.
Crosby, from Different Rhythm Foundation, is a local 9-year-old in Texas who is passionate about elephants as well. She has been walking to raise funds for The Gallmann African Conservancy and to this date, has already raised $5115 USD. Now the founder of Different Rhythms, Rosie Plaia, will be walking from Austin to Houston next week, starting August 25, where she will meet with me in preparation for the October March.
This is the harmonious future Elephantopia hopes for - where people like YOU and ME work together to make a difference for elephants. Elephantopia is proud to be teaming up with Crosby! Take a moment and encourage her on the Different Rhythm Foundation facebook page. And then, take a moment and consider how YOU might help make this world a better place for elephants.
- In Houston or surrounding areas? JOIN US FOR THE MARCH THIS OCTOBER! Or, check out this list of cities to find a march near YOU!
- NEVER buy ivory - and tell your family & friends the same!
- Write to your local and national government representatives asking for stricter laws against ivory
- Sponsor an orphaned ellie in Africa or Thailand
- ??? Be creative and come up with your own ways to spread the word & save the ellies!
Elaine Turner Designs & Elephantopia
Everyone loves a good shopping spree, including the elephants! We were so pleased with the Shop for a Cause event hosted by Elaine Turner Designs Rice Village last Sunday - we earned about $300USD towards our March for Elephants Event this October. It was great to share with customers how their purchases were helping spread the word about the poaching crisis to others here in the Houston metro area.
A TRIBUTE: World Elephant Day
“How does one not fall in love with these beautiful creatures?”
Today, August 12, is World Elephant Day. It’s a day to celebrate the world’s largest land mammal. A day to share cute photographs of your favorite ellie. A day for telling stories of how you first fell in love with elephants.
Why? Because in telling stories and sharing memorable pictures, we raise awareness and engender care for these amazing animals that may otherwise be extinct in Africa within the next twelve years. There are roughly 600,000 African elephants and 30-50,000 Asian elephants in the wild. And some estimates are that one elephant is killed by poaching every 12 minutes. And what can we do to stop this? While there are a lot of real and practical things we can do (NEVER buy ivory, sign petitions to your government asking for stricter law enforcement for illegal ivory, sponsor an orphaned elephant, March for Elephants on October 4 to raise awareness about poaching, just to name a few!), WE BELIEVE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS TO SHARE YOUR STORY.
On our facebook page, we asked for stories of how YOU fell in love with elephants. These stories were so moving, we wanted to share them here. See how a simple story, just a few lines long, can help change the world.
Seeing one for the first time when I was around 9…and been in love ever since
I see them very close up at a Lodge in the Pillansberg Game Reserve, South Africa. Once you look into their eyes, you will love these intelligent and wonderful animals forever
Visiting Boon Lotts Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. Love at first sight.
I have never met a real elephant although I hope to next year in Kenya and then the next year in Thailand. But what led me to love them so much is just reading the stories about how loving they are, how the matriarch takes care of her family and how social they are even to the point of protecting other species in danger . As I have learned more about them I’ve fallen more in love with them each and every day. That’s why I can never , ever understand how someone could kill one ! It’s beyond my comprehension !
My cousin brought to me a yellow elephant plushie, when I was about a month old. Tuffi was (and still is!) the love of my life. The elephant love led to a ‘big’ problem of nearly 3,000 pieces of collectibles (but none with ivory! That was and IS strictly forbidden!). I have no children and cannot expect someone else to love my collection like this, so I wrote into my last will, that all pieces have to be auctioned and the funds go to an elephant organization, one day… far from now.
And I’ve fostered two, also give a monthly share to an elephant hospital.A shaman lady from Kameroon recently told me, that - if I’m addiceted to elephants, that means I have been one in one of my former lifes or I owned one. And once fallen in love with an elephant, he’ll find me - wherever I may be!
How does one not fall in love with these beautiful creatures??
Through a friend, her birthday was yesterday. She was murdered in Philadelphia… She taught me and our circle of friends about the majestic power, wisdom, beauty and loyalty of elephants.
Falling in love with elies is the easiest thing you will ever do. Spend time in silence with the gentle giants.
It may sound silly but for me it was the movie Dumbo… oh how I cried every time I saw the caged mother rocking her baby thru the bars to the strains of “Baby Mine, (don’t you cry)”… it still can make this baby cry like, well, a baby! ~ I have never been to a Zoo or a Circus… there was always something un-natural about that habitat… and I never really understood why… until now… I am the loudest voice in the room and probably annoying beyond belief… but I will not stop… their story has to be told and we must protect them at all costs! ~ To quote John Kay who was probably quoting someone else… “Elephants are the keepers of ancient secrets, for they walked this earth when it was young” ~ I have never forgotten that and it still brings tears to my eyes.
When my Great Uncle passed away, I was asked if there was anything of his that I would like, as a keepsake. I was 11 at the time and I chose his two wooden elephants. My collection just grew from there. They are such beautiful, majestic animals, how could anyone not fall in love with them - just look into their soulful eyes
I am sure I saw elephants at the zoo when I was a little girl, but not until I noticed how bad the poaching is getting is when I realized how really beautiful they are and how much I fell in love with them especially the Orphans. They are the true souls of Love and Emotion. I am fostering an Orphan now and hope to foster more in the future.
When i still was a baby! Each afternoon, in a little province in France, there was on the radio the Babar’s story i heard it with my mother and i cried so much! I’am sixty now!!! And i still love Babar and all his world’s fellows! And we went to Africa where we spent 25 years…But i never had the pleasure to meet an elephant, except from the plane where i saw them free in the savanna!
I fell in love with elephants because they are the most magnificent animals God ever let live on this earth.
So what’s YOUR story? What are you waiting for? Share it today!
(please note - all photographs shared from google elephant image search. We do not claim the rights to any of these photographs)
Happy Weekend: Baby Navann
This little baby from Elephant Nature Park in Thailand is the perfect way to start your weekend! Want to learn more about Navann? CLICK HERE for a bio on this beautiful baby!
March for Elephants UPDATE
We’ve updated the march logo! Added tusks to the elephants - below is the new banner!
We also created t-shirts for the event! YOU can purchase one as well to help spread awareness about poaching. CLICK HERE to order yours today!
Elaine Turner Designs in Houston has also agreed to partner with us, hosting a Shop for a Cause event this Sunday. 20% of all proceeds sold from 3-5pm CST will be donated towards the march. In Houston? Swing by for some tasty treats and fun shopping for you and the elephants! Can’t make it in person? Pick something out online that you like and call in your order to this number (713.255.0052) between 3-5pmCST!
