Youth conservationist Celia Ho talks about her campaign to raise awareness in Hong Kong and China about the global ivory trade and the consequences for elephant populations.

The Disappearing Elephants Project

Approximately 100 elephants are killed every day for their ivory

Today there are between 470,000 and 690,000 African elephants left. Current poaching kills 25,000-35,000 elephants a year for their ivory. At this rate, African elephants will be extinct within decades.

Asian elephants are highly endangered, with only about 30,000 left, and approximately 30% of them are in captivity.

The project started out as a two-month collaboration between the WWF-Hong Kong and The New School University (New York City) during the 2014 International Field Program in Hong Kong. Brianna Rowe and her team have continued to work on the project in New York City. Their goal is to tell the story of today’s threats to African and Asian elephants. Their website has resources for students, educators and anyone interested in understanding the threats elephants face today. They invite educators to use our downloadable lesson plans and the various media to inform their classrooms about this global issue. Students will find information about the threats to elephants and can learn about the different organizations and activities that are being done to make lasting changes.

To learn more, visit the educational media portal at disappearingelephants.com