Category Archives: Wildlife Conservation

Leonardo DiCaprio Joins Our Fight!

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After announcing his break from acting, Leonardo DiCaprio has taken on another high profile role. Today he helped launch the World Wildlife Fund’s new animal rights campaign, the “Hands Off My Parts” initiative.

The initiative aims to bring awareness to the rhinos, tigers and elephants that are being killed for their skins, bones, tusks, horns and other body parts.

DiCaprio, 38, sent a personal e-mail to urge the public to join the initiative, which includes spreading the word and signing a global petition calling on Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to ban all ivory trade in Thailand.

Thank you Leo!

Thank you Leo!

Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards

“Illegal wildlife trade is the most urgent threat facing species like tigers, rhinos and elephants. These animals are being killed every day to feed an escalating demand for their body parts,” DiCaprio said.

“Whole populations are at risk of being wiped out if we don’t take immediate action to shut down this illicit trade. As a key step, I am joining WWF and others calling on Thailand’s government to show leadership on elephant conservation by shutting down its ivory market before the country hosts a meeting of 177 nations on wildlife trade in March 2013.”

The “Django Unchained” actor and other celebrity animal rights activists such as Emily VanCamp, Josh Bowman, Stacy Keibler, Alyssa Milano, Ian Somerhalder and Ethan Suplee have banded together to urge immediate action on illegal wildlife trade.

The superstar announced in late January he was taking a break from acting.

“I’m a little bit drained,” he told the German newspaper Bild. “I am now going to take a long, long break.”

After doing three films — “Django Unchained,” “The Great Gatsby” and the recently finished “The Wolf of Wall Street” — in two years, DiCaprio says he’s “just worn out.”

Publicity tours for the films still loom, but DiCaprio has other plans for when his schedule slows down.

“I would like to improve the world a bit,” he said. “I will fly around the world doing good for the environment.”

Sign The WWF Ivory Ban Petition for Thailand!

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Thai Ivory Ban Needed to Help Save Elephants

Illegal ivory in market© WWF-Canon / James Morgan

A shop selling jewelry and trinkets made from elephant ivory in Tha Phrachan market, Thailand.

WWF has launched a global petition asking Thai Prime Minister to ban all ivory trade in Thailand in order to curb the illegal killing of African elephants. Thailand is the biggest unregulated ivory market in the world and a top driver of poaching and illegal trade.

Although it is against the law to sell ivory from African elephants in Thailand, ivory from domestic Thai elephants can be sold legally. Criminal networks are exploiting this legal loophole and flooding Thai shops with blood ivory from Africa. This has resulted in massive quantities of African ivory being laundered through shops in Thailand, fuelling the elephant poaching crisis.

Poaching is at record levels in Africa with tens of thousands of elephants slaughtered each year for their ivory tusks. Trade data from the Elephant Trade Information System released last month shows that International ivory trafficking has reached its highest recorded rate in two decades, according to recent trade data from the Elephant Trade Information System. Data analysis confirmed 2011 as a record year for ivory seizures, with 17 large-scale ivory seizures totalling an estimated 26.4 metric tons of ivory.

“It’s clear that existing Thai laws are failing to keep illegal ivory out of the market and this petition signals that the world expects Thailand to do the right thing.”

Sybille Klenzendorf Managing Director of Species Conservation

In March, representatives from 176 governments will meet in the Thai capital of Bangkok to discuss global wildlife trade issues, including rampant elephant poaching in Africa. WWF is calling on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to use the opportunity to announce her country’s commitment to banning ivory trade in Thailand.

Take Action

Sign the petition to help save elephants from the ivory trade.

Started my book today …

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Writing it that is. I have no idea how to write a book but hey, you’ll never know if you can until you try. It’s a fiction/autobiography? Do those exist? Well who cares if they don’t… It’s not the first time I’ve started a trend :)

So, SHOCKINGLY, the book is about a woman and an elephant…well there’s more than that of course but that’s the bottom line. But, there are many elephants in the story so I need help naming them. I would LOVE suggestions! They will be Asian elephants ;)

Wish me luck!!!!!

We Did It!!!!!!!!!!!!

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We reached our January 2013 goal of $50 for the Surin Project — www.surinproject.com! Thank you to all that helped and who support the effort – please visit us at our Fundly page – http://fundly.com/support-the-surin-project - to contribute. As little as $2 goes a really really long way! To feed one of our elephants for a week costs $15! That’s only 8, $2 donations! Tangmo says “thank you” with her trunk!

Thank you for your generous donations! We are thrilled that you know we're here and are willing to help us and our program :) love from our Surin family!

Thank you for your generous donations! We are thrilled that you know we’re here and are willing to help us and our program :) love from our Surin family!

Today’s office blog dilema

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So, even though I have my own website and blog pretty much daily, I’m terrified to write a blog post about my trip to Sri Lanka for the BUST.com blog! Weird right? I think it’s just a bit overwhelming given all the memories I have in my head. I was supposed to write them all in a journal — daily — while I was away but there was just no time. Even when we were doing nothing it was something. Just watching the girls jumping around terrified of a harmless grasshopper in the house was wonderful time well spent. So, what I guess I’m talking in circles about is that this blog, my site if you will, shall be my journal based on memory — through mind & image.

Yeah, I think I’ll have an intern do the blog for me ;)

Hello world!

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Welcome to the Thai Elephant Conservation Project!

This is a site dedicated to y passion, the Asian Elephants and their conservation.

I just returned from a life changing trip to Sri Lanka to work with these beautiful, magical, magnificent creatures where I discovered what I am truly meant to do with my life. Work across South Asia to help protect, preserve and conserve these amazing animals.

It’s hard to understand how brilliant, caring, loving and desperate for help these gentle giants are if you haven’t spent time with an elephant. Seeing them wandering around a zoo is nice but it’s hell on earth for them. We’re not doing them any favors by taking them out of their natural habitat and sticking them in a strange country for people to stare at.

They are in true jeopardy. The African elephant is too but there is so much money already dedicated to their conservation that I’ve chosen to work with the Asian elephant.

Asian elephants are actually spiritual “Gods” to their  native countries and the people who live there. They are leaders of Armys and revered as they should be — with fear and awe. In Asia the elephant is loved and symbolic of everything that is good! They are powerful and strong but they are truly gentle and LOVE with their whole heart. They do not want to hurt anyone yet they are hunted for their tusks and meat.

They need our help and I hope to someday champion them full-time which is why I need your help.

Without completing certain training and volunteer programs throughout South Asia I can do nothing.

I will be traveling to Thailand later this year to volunteer with a program that will give me a new level of skill that will bring me one step closer to having the training I need to do the conservation work that needs to be done and I want to do for the rest of my life.

These programs are not cheap. I am looking for sponsors and private donations to help me cover the costs of this trip and all those I need to make in order to someday move to South Asia and work full-time with elephants.

Here is a link to the program I will be doing this year: http://www.travellersworldwide.com/19-thailand/thailand-elephants.htm

If you agree that this is a worthy cause and are willing to help me not just pursue my dream but also help protect these beautiful creatures, please  donate here  — even $1 will help and be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for visiting my site! Keep coming back for updates on the Asian Elephant situation along with posts about the plight of other endangered wildlife around the world.

Love always,

Emily