Elephants
The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) is a magnificent and intelligent creature found in the forests and grasslands of Southeast Asia. Known for their distinctive, smaller ears compared to their African counterparts, Asian elephants have played a crucial role in the cultures and traditions of the region for centuries.
The African Elephant population has continued to decline over several decades due to poaching for ivory and loss of habitat, additionally, the African Forest Elephant is now listed as Critically Endangered.
Culturally Significant but Threatened Nonetheless
Elephants face a myriad of threats that endanger their survival:
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Habitat loss due to human and agricultural expansion
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Ivory poaching and illegal trade
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Illegal wildlife trade for tourism and entertainment industries
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Human-elephant conflict over crops leading to violent retaliation from farmers
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Rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns affecting natural food and water sources
How We Can Help
Involving local communities in conservation efforts is vital for reducing human-elephant conflict.
Asia Wild funds partner organizations like Mahouts Elephant Foundation that provide sustainable livelihood opportunities such as sanctuary care to community-led, riding-free tourism so that families who once depended on elephant labor can support themselves while elephants live in protected forest habitat.
Our Impact So Far
From providing grants to sanctuaries and community-based programs in Vietnam, Thailand, India, and beyond, Asia Wild empowers organizations dedicated to elephants. One of our grants helped Elephant Nature Park, Thailand, build a veterinary clinic — Asia Wild granted $43,000 to complete that project, benefiting hundreds of elephants and other local animals. We also provided an emergency grant to ENP to rebuild a fence washed away in the catastrophic 2020 Northern Thailand floods. In 2023, Asia Wild granted Voices for Asian Elephants $30,000 to rewild fragmented forests, employing local communities to plant elephant-friendly saplings and create water sources that meet elephants' needs while helping prevent human-elephant conflict.
We're also proud to support the work of Mahouts Elephant Foundation, a UK-registered charity returning captive Asian elephants to protected forest habitats in Thailand. Founded in 2015, Mahouts partners with Karen indigenous communities to build welfare-focused, riding-free tourism that replaces traditional elephant riding camps. The foundation currently supports seven elephants across two project sites — Walking with Elephants and LIFE: Living in the Forest with Elephants — spanning over 90,000 acres, while paying mahouts fair wages so families aren't forced to sell elephants into tourism camps.
Through the support of our donors, we will continue to work with local organizations around the globe to protect elephants.