World Elephant Day is marked every year on 12 August. India is home to about 60% of the world’s wild Asian elephants.
This year
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday, 12 August |
| 2027 | Thursday, 12 August |
India’s elephants
- 22,446 wild elephants, according to the Synchronous All India Elephant Estimation 2021–25, in 33 elephant reserves with 150 identified corridors.
- Project Elephant, run by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, supports states in protecting elephants, their habitats and corridors.
- The main threats are habitat loss, human-elephant conflict, deaths on railway lines and from electrocution, and poaching.
What India did on the day in 2026
The Ministry held the national event at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Minister of State for Environment gave the Gaj Gaurav Awards 2026 for elephant conservation, “Project Elephant: 30 Giant Steps” was released, and the Project Elephant Steering Committee met on human-elephant conflict, electrocution, railway deaths and corridors.
What you can do
- Keep away from wild elephants, and never chase, film up close or feed them.
- Report injured elephants or illegal electric fences to the forest department.
Questions and answers
Related on Animal Writes
- Guides: Wildlife Week; Animal days in India
- Category: Wildlife
By Animal Writes
