5 easy ways you can help elephants this year

The new year asks for new beginnings and new ideas!

If you’re looking to dedicate more thought, time and effort to the elephant cause but you’re not sure where to start, here are 5 easy ways how you can help elephants this year (and have fun along the way). From fostering an orphaned baby elephant, shopping more consciously or participating in a fundraiser 10k run with us, there are many options available.

1. FOSTER A BABY ORPHAN AT SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST

– or gift it to someone who loves elephants! When a tiny new-born elephant is orphaned, it is often because its mother and family have been killed to serve the brutal ivory trade. For an elephant, family is all important; a calf’s very existence depends upon its mother’s milk for the first two years of life. Starting from $50 per year, the fostering programme allows you to play an important part in the much needed care and dedication that the baby elephants need.

2. ONE-OFF OR MONTHLY DONATIONS TOWARDS A CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE

You can donate any sum – as every little counts – to an elephant conservation foundation of your choice. Space for Elephants, a South African-based charity we support, ensures free space for elephants and wildlife to roam. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here. You can also commit to a monthly amount directly debited from your account – for example to Big Life Foundation, another foundation we support, that runs a Ranger Club program. These brave individuals are out in the wild every day, undertaking foot patrols, tracking and arresting poachers, and providing security for critically important wilderness in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem.The rangers work tirelessly to protect elephants, rhinos, lions and other animals from poaching and retaliatory killing due to human-wildlife conflict. You can set up your direct debit here.

3. TAKE PART IN ENOURMOUS ELEPHANT RUN, TAKING PLACE IN LONDON AND LA THIS YEAR.

This fun, family and dog friendly event offers 5k and 10k race distances – and elephant onesies! Race to finish line with your friends or family to bring awareness and much needed support to the elephant conservation projects. You might spot our team there!

4. BE AWARE OF PLIGHT OF CAPTIVE ELEPHANTS

Boycott zoos and elephant rides, which cause the elephants to be beaten, caged and starved for obedience. Instead, choose eco-tourism suppliers who treat elephants with respect and support local conservation projects.

5. SHOP CONSCIOUSLY

Avoid palm oil and ensure when buying certain products that they are elephant-friendly – wood and coffee, for example, are often grown in plantations destroying elephant habitats so look out for Forest Stewardship  Council (FSC) certified timber and certified fair trade coffee. You can also buy products that support elephant conservation efforts – like Elephant Gin which donates 15% of bottle profits to elephant charities. Other interesting products to look for are colourful Love Brand trunks, Nick Brandt’s beautiful photo albums and prints and clothing lines from Ivory Ella, Elephant Pants or Lalf.