‘Elephants: The Super Creatures’- an ode to the mighty mammal on World Elephant Day
The launch is a part of the global movement to express concern, share knowledge, and support solutions for the better care of captive and wild elephants alike
Mumbai: World Elephant Day is celebrated every year on August 12. Initiated in 2012, the day aims to draw attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. To shine a spotlight on the mighty mammal, WWF India launch a captivating children’s book titled Elephants: The Super Creatures. Authored by conservation scientist and WWF India’s national lead for elephant conservation, Nitin Sekar, the book demonstrates how fascinating these animals are through a colourful description of their natural history, physiology, ecology, intelligence, and social behaviour. The book is being co-published by The Write Place: The Publishing arm of Crossword Bookstores.
“Elephants: The Super Creatures is a delightful repository of facts about this magnanimous animal and elicits a sense of wonder in the heart of young Indian readers," says Dr. Pheroza J Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Archives Council & Advisor, Godrej Mangroves, who was present at the launch as the Chief Guest.
Author Nitin Sekar has extensive experience in scientific and wildlife-based writing and is the author of the narrative non-fiction book What’s Left of the Jungle: A Conservation Story. His latest literary work, Elephants: The Super Creatures, seeks to demystify these magnificent creatures to younger audiences. The book has been illustrated by Mohit Suneja and has a foreword by renowned wildlifer and conservationist Dr. A.J.T. Johnsingh. The book will be published in English, Hindi and Tamil. The book is peppered with easy-to-understand facts and stories about elephants ranging from cutting-edge scientific research to anecdotes about elephants from around the world. The book also explains elephants' conservation status and what readers can do to help.
“By distributing this book in multiple languages and to children in both urban and rural communities, we hope to help young Indians understand just how special it is that India has been able to conserve the world’s largest population of wild Asian elephants. We also hope to inspire them to help solve the conservation problems that have beguiled earlier generations,” says Nitin Sekar.
The book was launched today at the Crosswords Bookstore at Kemps Corner with a special reading for an audience of over a hundred young naturalists in the making. The event will be presided over by Chief Guest Dr. Pheroza Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Archives Council and Advisor, Godrej Mangroves; special guest,
Mr. Rishabh Shroff Partner – Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas & representatives from WWF India including Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO, WWF India among others.
WWF India has been working relentlessly to protect the Asian elephant for decades. The cornerstone of WWF's work is to comprehensively address human-elephant conflict, including everything from community-based efforts to securing elephant habitats and corridors. An essential part of WWF's efforts includes conducting awareness drives in the rural belts prone to the human-animal conflict involving elephants. With the view of bringing in the same awareness and perhaps forging a connection to elephants in the hearts of young children, WWF India's elephant team and education team have produced Elephants: The Super Creatures.
As one of the stalwarts of an organization that has been contributing towards biodiversity conservation for decades, Dr. Pheroza Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Archives Council & Advisor, Godrej Mangroves, is well-versed with the need for raising a generation of environmentally conscious individuals. At the book launch, she said, “Godrej & Boyce shares WWF’s ethos on environment and nature towards creating a better planet. Education being one of the most important tools to achieve this, we are determined to constantly enrich school libraries and bookstores with more and more books on nature and the environment.”
Despite being an animal loved and revered by people and cultures around the world, today, the largest land animals need support and conservation efforts commensurate to their size. In India, the Asian elephant was once widely distributed throughout the country, but currently, populations are isolated to four fragmented pockets in the south, north, central and northeast. Human-elephant conflict, habitat loss, and poaching are major threats to African and Asian elephants.
Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary-General and CEO WWF India, said, "The Asian elephant is a flagship species and India's National Heritage Animal. This book by our National Lead for Elephant Conservation, Dr. Nitin Sekar, sheds light on the life of this wonderful and essential species. The anecdotes about elephants help build a connection between the reader and this magnificent animal, encouraging stewardship towards wild species and ongoing efforts for their conservation."
For further details, please contact:
Komal Chaudhary
Senior Manager, Media and PR
kchaudhary@wwfindia.net
