Accredited zoos are taking critical steps to ensure a future for elephants through education programs and conservation projects designed to draw attention to the plight of elephants and make a real impact in their home ranges.

In addition to inspiring millions of visitors each year to care about elephants, today’s accredited zoos are providing vital resources to help elephants. They support more than 85 elephant research programs that directly address many of the issues affecting elephants in the wild. Others are studying the animals to learn how we can best protect them. For instance:

• A study on elephant vocalization at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is yielding clues in female elephant fertility patterns, important for successful breeding to maintain elephant conservation programs.
• At the Oakland Zoo, researchers are discovering how elephants hear distant seismic vibrations and perceive them as environmental threats. This study illuminates how people can better protect wild elephant habitats, and shield elephants in this country from urban noise.
• The St. Louis Zoo developed a means of using cell phone towers to track elephants in the wild.
• An elephant vocalization study at the Pittsburgh Zoo is yielding insight into how the animals are affected by relocation from one habitat to another. This knowledge will help elephant conservationists work successfully.

Additionally, accredited zoos provide the majority of the funding for the International Elephant Foundation (IEF), a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that supports a wide variety of elephant conservation and related scientific and educational projects worldwide.

Armed with dedicated teams of scientists, researchers and passionate conservationists, accredited zoos are making a real difference for elephants. The National Elephant Center will support these causes while spearheading new initiatives and programs designed to ensure elephants remain part of our future.