Feel Good Friday - International Elephant Foundation

Monday, August 12th is World Elephant Day which makes today a great day to learn about the International Elephant Foundation.

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Azle, Texas, the mission of the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) is “to support and operate elephant conservation and education programs in managed facilities and in the wild, with an emphasis on management, protection and scientific research.” 

The African Forest, African Savannah and Asian elephant are all endangered species. Only 400,000 African elephants remain on the continent, and the estimated population of Asian elephants is 40,000 - 50,000, one third of which are living in human care. As the human population on both continents grows, people move into elephant habitat which results in both a loss of habitat for the elephants and more frequent human elephant conflict. This puts all involved at risk of injury and death.

In order to encourage the peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants, and to protect elephants and their habitats, IEF provides grants to institutions, organizations and individuals engaged in the field of elephant conservation, research, health, management, education and improvements in husbandry of elephants in human care. 

This 4-minute video discusses past IEF projects, while the following are examples of projects being done in 2024. The Big Tusker Project in Kenya provides aerial surveillance of elephants with tusks weighing over 100 pounds each. This helps with census and scientific research as well as anti-poaching operations. Guinea Forest Elephants is focused on education campaigns, prosecuting wildlife offenses and tracking elephants in the Ziama Biosphere Reserve. Conservation Response Units in Sumatra use “captive elephants, their mahouts, and forest rangers for direct field-based conservation interventions to support the conservation of wild elephants and their habitat.”

IEF also funds and produces publications for the improved management and welfare for elephants in human care, and holds symposia for conservationists and researchers to share conservation and research outcomes. In 2024, IEF awarded over $625,000 in funding to these projects, bringing their total contributions since they began to over $9 million. 

If you’d like to support the International Elephant Foundation and the organizations they work with, there are many ways to do so. Make an old school donation or sponsor an elephant. You can also amplify their work by following IEF on Facebook or Instagram and subscribing to their YouTube channel.