World Elephant Day will be observed around the globe on August 12, and fans are invited to start a week of awareness early with World Elephant Day activities at Zoo Atlanta on Saturday, August 8, 2015, in a day packed with special opportunities highlighting Earth’s largest land mammals and the crucial need to protect elephants in the wild.
Activities will include a “paint like an elephant” exercise, a chance to watch African elephants Kelly and Tara paint, a chance to join an African Elephant Wild Encounter, and more. The pachyderm ambassadors will also enjoy afternoon showers from their caregivers at 1:15 p.m. World Elephant Day buttons will be available while supplies last; proceeds benefit the 96 Elephants campaign.
Zoo Atlanta is a proud partner of the 96 Elephants campaign. Launched in 2013 by the Wildlife Conservation Society and named for the estimated number of elephants slaughtered for their tusks every day in Africa, the campaign seeks to bolster elephant protection in the wild, fund high-tech tracking of poachers and ivory smugglers, and engage the public to petition for state and global moratoria on ivory sales.
Elephants are a focal point of “A Grand New View: Elephants, Events and Expansion,” the campaign launched by Zoo Atlanta following the City of Atlanta’s announcement of the transfer of the stewardship of the historic Cyclorama building and its immediately surrounding property to the Zoo. Among other transformative improvements, including a one-of-a-kind event space and a grand entry plaza, the project will dramatically expand the Zoo’s African elephant habitat, which is expected to more than triple in size by 2019.
Visit www.zooatlanta.org to learn more about World Elephant Day activities at Zoo Atlanta. To learn more about the 96 Elephants campaign or to get involved, visit www.96elephants.org.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Zoo Atlanta
800 Cherokee Avenue, S.E.
Atlanta, GA 30315
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