New Delhi. World Elephant Day 2024: World Elephant Day is celebrated every year on 12 August. On this day, efforts are made to make people aware about elephants, their habitat and the problems they face. Elephants play a very important role in saving our environment. On this day, efforts are also made to make people aware about their importance (World Elephant Day Celebrations). Let us know with what theme this day will be celebrated this year and why it is important to celebrate this day (World Elephant Day Significance/ History).

Why is World Elephant Day celebrated?

Elephants are considered sacred and auspicious in many regions and cultures. In Hinduism too, elephants are considered to be a form of Lord Ganesha and are worshipped in many places. Apart from religious beliefs, they also play an important role in environmental conservation. They create water holes, help spread seeds, which helps plants grow in new places.

For many such reasons, elephants are considered very important for the environment and hence it is very important to protect them. Elephants are very sensible, calm and intelligent, due to which they also have a good relationship with humans.

What is the beginning of celebrating this day?

Despite being so important, World Elephant Day was started quite late for the conservation of elephants. A Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims and HM Queen Sirikit, along with other conservationists, proposed to celebrate this day. They raised their voice against humans destroying the habitat of elephants by cutting forests, encroaching on their areas and hunting them, and this day was started to be celebrated.

What is this year's theme?

This year the theme of World Elephant Day has been chosen very special. This year's theme is - "Personifying Prehistoric Beauty, Theological Relevance, and Environmental Importance", that is, "Personifying Prehistoric Beauty, Theological Relevance, and Environmental Importance".

What threats do elephants face?

Humans are destroying forests or making roads through them for their own convenience, due to which elephants are losing their habitat and are forced to live in smaller areas.

For their tusks, people hunt elephants and sell them illegally. Due to this, their numbers have decreased considerably.

Due to climate change, elephants face difficulty in finding food and water, which affects their health.

Due to many such problems, the number of elephants has reduced considerably. World Elephant Day is celebrated every year to save them.