When Elephants Were Young is a human-elephant conservation story that comes at a critical time for elephants.

Elephants may be more like us than any other animal. They have self-awareness, strong family bonds, and even grieve for their dead. As a keystone species they play a very important role in the environment, but we are quickly losing this magnificent, intelligent creature. At the current rate of poaching and habitat loss, there will be no elephants left on the planet in less than thirty years.

The Asian elephant is an endangered species with less than 45,000 remaining in the world. Their numbers are rapidly decreasing due to habitat destruction, poaching, human-elephant conflict, wild-capture for tourism, and mistreatment in captivity. The Asian elephant habitat has shrunk by over 70% in the last 50 years.

Each year approximately 30,000 African elephants are slaughtered to supply the illegal ivory trade that feeds an insatiable demand for ivory in consumer markets in China, Thailand, and many other countries including the USA and the UK.

How can you help to make a difference and save the elephants from extinction?

Filmmaker Patricia Sims is the director and co-founder of World Elephant Day, an annual global awareness campaign launched on August 12, 2012.

The issues facing elephants are complex and require the collaboration of individuals, organizations, and leaders around the world. There are many elephant conservation organizations you can support, who are working on the ground to find solutions. Over 100 wildlife organizations and countless individuals worldwide participate in World Elephant Day every year.

Find out what you can do to save elephants from extinction at worldelephantday.org