Watch The Video, It’s Such Good News!
The world is fast losing elephants. Elephant populations throughout Africa are in crisis with numbers plummeting more than 90% in the past century and by a third in the past 20 years alone. Voracious poaching continues, despite a near-total ban on trade in ivory. Tragically, 20,000 elephants are slaughtered each year – that means one elephant dies every 30 minutes. More elephants are poached than are being born, putting these amazing animals in very real danger of extinction.
It’s enormously satisfying for us to tell you that Network for Animals is making a difference for elephants, and that our work is resulting in the images you see in our video – baby elephants are being born at the Addo National Park in South Africa in large numbers and our supporters can claim some of the credit.
23 years ago, Brian Davies, our founder, had a vision to expand the Addo Elephant National Park – a safe haven for elephants that has since become one of the most important conservation areas for the species. Subsequently, critical elephant relocations have been facilitated by Network for Animals, and there are now over 800 hundred elephants at Addo, roaming and breeding in safety as nature intended.
On a recent trip to the park, our team was deeply moved by the sight of a handful of baby elephants, newly born into this safe, wild paradise. A testament to Brian’s vision over three decades ago. These babies will grow up never knowing human cruelty and will instead only experience the freedom of the wild. Roaming and feasting on their favourite plant, the spekboom, and eventually happily breeding to help ensure the survival of this iconic species.
This would never be possible without our supporters’ help. So thank you and please, keep supporting Network for Animals so many more babies like these can prosper and grow in the wild, where they belong.
Once hopeless, Raju’s spirit has soared - After 50 years in brutal captivity, Raju the elephant had lost all hope. He had suffered decades of abuse at the end of a spiked chain around his leg. Raju’s rescue and freedom in 2014 brought him to tears, and the world cried with him. He became known as the “crying elephant.” Today Raju is living at a Wildlife SOS sanctuary, where he is undergoing treatment for his significant chronic physical and psychological injuries. Under the watchful eye of his caregivers, Raju has shown considerable improvement. But it’s Raju’s spirit that has truly soared, thanks to compassionate supporters like you. This Giving Tuesday, please support Wildlife SOS and our mission to rescue and help elephants in need. With your help we can save more elephants like Sanjay! Don’t wait, please give today! #givingtuesdayhttps://give.wildlifesos.org/page/302...
It's amazing! There are times when we all need to take a moment and witness the tremendous impact we can all make in one elephant’s life. Watching the joy of Zara as she makes friends with Holly, Kalpana and Karma was such a moment.
WIldlife SOS Co-Founder and CEO Kartick joins a crowded pool party.
Zara likely hasn't had any personal relationships or bonds in her previous life, so this is a new, unique and thrilling experience for her. Since Zara is the youngest in the herd, the trio makes sure they seldom leave her side and comfort her with trunk hugs and constant rumbles.
We’re planning for a future of rescuing more elephants, and we’re running out of space!
You have helped us create a refuge for abused, debilitated and very sick elephants. First, your support empowered us to acquire the land that we call the “Field of Dreams.” This oasis for elephants sits on the Yamuna River and is a place where they can share their love for water with thousands of birds.
Then you helped us build India’s first elephant hospital, where abused and neglected elephants get the medicine and rehabilitation they need under the loving care of our compassionate staff. Help out today...
Since then, 10 more elephants have been rescued including our newest arrivals Arya, Zara, Karma, Ramu and Kalpana, and we’re anticipating helping many more very soon. In order to rescue more elephants, we need to build-out new pools, fencing, shelters, treatment areas, fresh water access and exercise enrichments designed for the special needs of our elderly and disabled residents. Right now all of our living spaces are full and this expansion is essential to help other needy elephants.
Dr. Samar Khan - Freedom for Kaavan
The last time I wrote an update to this petition was in 2015. Back then, I was a pre-vet student who had been shocked into starting a change.org petition after seen a sad little elephant named Kaavan standing in shackles, weaving back and forth at Islamabad Zoo. Five years later I’m now a veterinarian and thanks to four hundred thousand social media warriors, an elite team of animal welfare organizations, and dedicated local Islamabad volunteers, Kaavan is a free elephant.
In just two days, Kaavan will be airlifted from Pakistan to Cambodia where he will live in a 25,000 acre jungle sanctuary with a herd of other rescued elephants. The world’s loneliest elephant will finally have a family.
After I graduated vet school this Summer, I went to go to see Kaavan again. He is already miles away from the cowering elephant he once was. His eyes, once dull and glossed over, are now bright and full of mischief. I was invited by doctors from Four Paws, an animal welfare organization, to help give Kaavan his pre-travel check up. He snatched a watermelon full of dewormer I filled and threw it away, before reaching back to steal apples. With just a few weeks of proper care, Kaavan has started to come out of his shell and has turned into the most lovable, cheeky boy. It’s been the honor of my life to have him as my first patient and I’m so excited to see how life in Cambodia will transform him.
Kaavan’s journey to sanctuary has been a collaborative effort. So many people were involved, including Kaavan’s new best friend: renowned vet Dr Amir Khalil, who connected with me in 2015 to take up Kaavan’s case, as well as superstar Cher who generously used her platform to fight for Kaavan.
A fact I wish was highlighted more by international media is that loudest voices for Kaavan have been Pakistani: from Faryal Gauhar, an Islamabad based animal activist, who first laid the groundwork for Kaavan’s case in government; to Anees Jilani and Owais Awan, Kaavan’s dedicated legal team who petitioned Kaavan’s case in court; to Mohebullah Naveed, a 17 year old animal activist, who has gone to visit Kaavan before school every day these past five years. There is even an entire an entire group of Islamabad citizens called Friends of Islamabad Zoo who work every day to improve zoo animal welfare. These people are just a fraction of the many Pakistanis who have come forward and fought for the Islamabad Zoo animals in the last five years.
Kaavan is known to the world as the lonely elephant of Islamabad Zoo. But thanks to your support, he isn’t just the Islamabad Zoo’s elephant anymore: millions of people across the world have adopted him. He became ours, and we all made sure he got the life he deserved.
YOU can change the future and be a hero for nature. For endangered species and vulnerable communities, for the Amazon and the Arctic, for the trees and the seas, and for life on Earth.
Please hurry — Giving Tuesday will be over at midnight! I know how important protecting our planet is to you. Will you make your secure gift now, help make our critical conservation work possible, and be the one who gets us to our goal?
With you by our side, we can save species like elephants and tigers from extinction, stop deforestation and many other threats to nature and people, and protect the planet for future generations. We can't do it without you.
This Giving Tuesday, I’m asking you: Don’t wildlife deserve a bright future?
That future is threatened right now. Wolves, bears and other imperiled animals are under attack – and they’re counting on us to help.
Giving Tuesday is here – this is your chance to make 4x the difference for the wildlife who need you most!
Wolves, polar bears and all manner of wildlife are in extreme danger. Forced from their homes to make way for logging and oil drilling. Neglected by partisan political interests. Helpless against the looming threat of extinction.
But hurry, this match offer ends at midnight tonight!SAVE WILDLIFE ON GIVING TUESDAY. The future of our wild world is in your hands. Make a stand for wildlife this Giving Tuesday. Give generously today, while your compassion makes 4x the difference for the animals who need us most.
Thanks to compassionate supporters like you, we saved him! When he first arrived at Wildlife SOS, the once majestic elephant was completely broken, both physically and spiritually. Wildlife SOS caregivers tended to Sanjay night and day, treating his damaged feet and a painful fracture in his hind leg.
Sanjay means “victorious,” and today he is living a life free from fear and pain alongside other elephant friends. Sanjay is magnificent once again!
A PETA US video shows an American trophy hunter who's incapable of making a clean kill as he repeatedly shoots a young elephant just outside Kruger National Park in South Africa. See the shocking footage for yourself, and take action to help stop elephants, lions, rhinos, and other animals from being shot in cold blood and dying in agony just to give hunters a sick thrill and a trophy. Act Now.
After 26 years of solitude and abuse, Himeko the elephant has died. Tell this zoo: never again!
Himeji City Zoo in Japan was home to one of the saddest, loneliest elephants in the world. Himeko gained global attention for her 26 year-long plight at the facility, causing activists and other compassionate humans to call for her release. But her freedom was only handed to her in death: the poor animal passed away in October 2020, succumbing to a foot disease that her captors let her suffer from while still forcing her to perform. Himeko's life for the past 26 years was a repeated, miserable pattern.
Himeko spent 18 hours a day locked away in a dark, concrete indoor cell with zero access to food or water. The other 6 hours were spent performing unnatural tricks like walking in circles or kneeling down in front of noisy, stressful crowds. Himeko was known for her constant bobbing, swaying, and banging her tail against the steel door of her pen — behaviors that captive animals exhibit when they are frustrated, bored, depressed, or anxious. Elephants, as a species, are highly intelligent, highly social, and should live long, relaxed lives; the life that Himeko was forced into could not have been more the opposite.
And, In Pictures is a monthly feature highlighting our favorite photos. We hope these images give you a moment to catch your breath and enjoy some beautiful wildlife!
This photo above of Suraj the bull elephant for November was shot by staff photographer Mradul at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre.
Suraj, meaning "sun," is a 45-year-old bull elephant who is easily recognized by his missing left ear. He came to Wildlife SOS in 2015 after a life of abuse and neglect in a temple in Maharashtra. Today, Suraj gets all the pampering he deserves from our vets and caretakers.
Elephants suffer in captivity.
They can be abused by trainers, and are forced to live in constrained conditions which causes stress, boredom, and the frustration of elephants' desires. No elephant deserves to be put on display and held in captivity for any reason. Please do not support elephant captivity by patronizing zoos or traveling circuses.
Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.
The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments.
Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.
ANIMAL RESCUES WELFARE, CRIMES & ABUSE
