Giving a hats-off to the African elephants and those dedicated to working endlessly for their conservation on International Elephant Day!
International Elephant Day has been celebrated since 2012 and was founded by Patricia Sims in cooperation with Thailand’s Elephant Reintroduction Foundation.1 The goal of this day is to raise awareness of the threats elephants are exposed to and the ways in which conservation can be supported.
In honour of International Elephant Day, I thought it would be fitting to take a look at a recent release of an innovative South African publication: The Last Elephants. This is a beautiful full-colour 487-page book compiled by Don Pinnock and Colin Bell and published by Struik Nature.
Motivation behind The Last Elephants
Although this book has somewhat of a gloomy title, it is, in fact, intended to be a hopeful call for action. The Last Elephants was inspired by the report compiled on the results of a vast elephant census undertaken in 2016 across the African continent. The shocking truth of this report was: an average of three elephants are killed every hour in Africa.
Pinnock (an environmental journalist) and Bell (a nature guide and conservationist) felt compelled to act on this information and, calling on their experience, passion and contacts, the idea for this publication was born. Just over two years later, in March 2019, The Last Elephants saw the light.
The aim of this book is to raise awareness of the urgency concerning the protection of elephant populations, not only under nature reserves and organisations, but also communities and the tourism industry. It shares information about the past and present elephant situations in most of the African regions. Further, this book also intends to give a “hats-off” to all the hard work done by conservationists, rangers and researchers that contributed in some or other way to the preservation of our precious elephants.
Inside The Last Elephants
This publication boasts a foreword written by Prince William, 32 contributing writers, shocking statistics, fascinating facts and a couple of poems – but it is impossible not to get caught up in its most grabbing feature: the striking and beautiful photographs. A total of 56 photographers contributed to this compilation, as well as one sketch artist, all offering their images freely, to be used in this publication. The collage of elephant-themed stamps released over the years in various African countries found in the back of the book is marvelous and shows just how strongly elephants are embedded in cultures all across Africa.
Besides giving a shout-out to those working hard for elephant conservation, it also provides some guidelines and suggestions for things you can do (and not do) to support Africa’s beloved elephants. Being thoroughly informed about the place and roles of elephants in nature, will slowly help change attitudes towards the crisis at hand and help to nurture a culture of awareness and support.
The beautiful photographs in this book will make you long for the peacefulness of the bush-veld and remind you that it is time to get out of the city for a break, reconnect with nature and support conservation in the process!
Buying your copy of The Last Elephants
If you are a nature lover or photographer, supporter of nature conservation or involved in the tourist industry, you should thoroughly enjoy this stunning publication. If this is a description of somebody you know, this book will make a wonderful gift!
If you own or manage any getaway accommodation, The Last Elephants will also serve as great coffee table or bedside reading material at nature reserves, game lodges or hotels.
Readers in South Africa can buy The Last Elephants at any Exclusive Books or Bargain Books outlet. You can also buy a copy online at Loot, Takealot or Reader’s Warehouse.
Readers located outside of South Africa can buy theirs at Amazon, available at this link.
What you can do on International Elephant Day
You don’t need to work in nature conservation to make a contribution toward preserving the elephants of Africa. Several events accompanying the publication of this book, donated the proceeds to organisations such as Elephants Alive. This organisation, along with many others, are listed in The Last Elephants as trusted non-profit organisations to support in order to promote elephant research and conservation.
If you do not yet have a copy of this fascinating book, but would like to do something small to help elephant conservation today, you can support Elephants Alive in their research and add them as a beneficiary on your MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet account (their reference number is 12299). Sign up for an account if you do not have one yet – it is free and a small percentage of the purchases you make at selected retailers will be donated to them.
Happy International Elephant Day!
Win two nights away with Bargain Books!
If you purchase your copy of The Last Elephants at a Bargain Books store by the end of August, you are eligible to enter their competition to win a luxurious two-night getaway in Pilanesburg National Park! Remember to save your receipt and enter the competition here.
1. https://worldelephantday.org/about/elephant-reintroduction-foundation