This World Elephant Day, August 12, we invite you to stand with the matriarchs — the memory-keepers of the wild. These wise leaders guide their herds and carry generations of knowledge. But as they face growing threats, a new generation is stepping up, one that refuses to forget.

In their honour, we’re launching the Emerging Storyteller Fund to support and mentor young storytellers in elephant range countries so their voices can carry the wisdom of the matriarchs into the future.

Across Africa and Asia, these emerging conservationists are using storytelling to show the world what elephants represent: strength, connection, and the power of remembering. With phones, cameras, and lived experience, they’re capturing the urgency, science, and beauty of elephant life through film, photography, and digital media.

Just as elephant herds depend on their matriarchs, these storytellers are inspired by the women in their own communities — grandmothers, mothers, mentors — who pass down values of care and respect for nature.

Since 2012, World Elephant Day has been powered by storytelling , from rangers and researchers to filmmakers, Indigenous leaders, and youth. These voices matter.

To carry this legacy forward, we’re raising $300,000 to support grassroots community solutions, youth-led media, and the kind of storytelling that turns awareness into action.

Storytelling is survival. It helps people understand what’s at stake. It brings conservation to life. And it connects us across cultures and continents through empathy and meaningful impact.

Please join us.

Your gift of any amount will help ensure that the wisdom of elephant matriarchs, and the voices rising to protect them, continue to shape a future where elephants and people can coexist and thrive.

Here’s what your donation funds:

The Emerging Storyteller Fund will help keep these stories alive.

Please consider making a gift.

Let’s make sure future generations can still see elephants roaming wild and free.

❤️ Thank you for your kind support ❤️

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World Elephant Day 2025

By World Elephant Society

World Elephant Day 2025

Keeping the Memories of the Matriarchs Alive

Team Members