World Elephant Day 2025 | 12 Aug 2025

Why in News? 

On 12th August 2025, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, hosted the World Elephant Day celebration in Coimbatore.  

  • A specialized workshop on Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) was also held, providing a platform for elephant range states to share challenges and discuss mitigation strategies, in line with Project Elephant's focus on community participation and scientific solutions to address human-elephant conflicts. 
  • A nationwide awareness program also aims to engage approximately 12 lakh school children from around 5,000 schools across India. 

World Elephant Day 

  • World Elephant Day was co-founded on 12th August 2012, by Canadian Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand.  
  • Since its inception of global awareness building, it has partnerships with 100 elephant conservation organizations worldwide and reaches countless individuals across the globe.  
  • The theme for 2025 is “Bringing the world together to help elephants”. 
  • World Elephant Society, established in November 2015 as a nonprofit organization, aims to support the annual World Elephant Day campaign. 
    • The organization educates the public on global elephant conservation efforts, particularly around World Elephant Day. 

Elephant_Species

Facts About Elephants 

  • Three Species: African savannah elephant, African forest elephant, and Asian elephant. 
  • Size: African savannah elephants are largest (up to 4 meters tall and 6,800 kg in weight). 
  • Lifespan: Wild elephants typically live 60 to 70 years of age. 
  • Diet: Elephants are herbivores 
  • Trunk: Their trunk is a versatile tool used for breathing, smelling, touching, grasping, and producing sound. 
  • Tusks: Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth and can be found on elephants at 2 years old.  
    • Elephants have been targeted for their ivory tusks, driving the illegal wildlife trade and causing severe declines in their populations. 
  • Intelligence: Elephants have the largest brain of any land animal. 
  • Social Structure: Female elephants live in family groups called herds, led by a matriarch.  
  • Reproduction: Elephant pregnancies last about 22 months, and calves weigh 200–300 pounds at birth. 
  • Conservation Status (IUCN Red List Status):  
    • Asian elephants: Endangered (EN) 
    • Savannah elephants: Endangered (EN) 
    • Forest elephants: Critically Endangered (CR) 

India’s Role in Elephant Conservation 

  • India is home to nearly 60% of the world’s wild elephant population.  
  • India has established 33 Elephant Reserves and 150 identified Elephant Corridors, according to the Report on Elephant Corridors in India, 2023.  
  • India has granted elephants the status of National Heritage Animal.  
  • In India, Asian Elephants are categorized under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.