Elephant Family is an international NGO dedicated to protecting the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. In the last fifty years their population has roughly halved and 90% of their habitat has disappeared. Poaching, a growing skin trade, and demand for wild-caught calves for tourism remain a constant threat along with the deadly and escalating conflict between people and elephants for living space and food. Elephant Family funds pioneering projects across Asia to reconnect forest fragments, prevent conflict and fight wildlife crime. Since 2002 Elephant Family has funded over 170 conservation projects and raised over £10m through public art events for this iconic yet endangered animal. The late

Mark Shand Mark Roland Shand (28 June 1951 – 23 April 2014) was a British travel writer and conservationist and the brother of Queen Camilla. Shand was the author of four travel books and as a BBC conservationist, appeared in documentaries related to h ...

was one of the founding forces behind the charity when it launched in 2002 under the patronage of the Rajmata of Jaipur and Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Mark Shand was an adventurer, best-selling author and conservationist who dedicated his life to the survival of the Asian elephant. His mission started in 1988 when he rescued a street begging elephant, which he named Tara, and journeyed 800km across India with her. Tara became the star of Mark’s best-selling book, ''Travels on my Elephant'', which went on to win him Travel Writer of the Year.

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

and his wife

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ...

are joint royal presidents of the charity and most recently attended launched Elephant Parade India for the charity during their visit to Delhi. Elephant Family is known for its award winning creative events that have raised millions for Asian elephants including ''The Fabergé Egg Hunt'' in 2012 and 2014, ''Travels to my Elephant'' in 2015 and 2017, ''The Animal Ball'' in 2013 and 2016, and ''Elephant Parade London 2010 and India 2018''.

Leaders

– chairman (2009–2014; his death) * Ruth Powys – principal trustee

Partnership

Elephant Family partner with local NGOs across

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

to raise local awareness and to support sustainable in-a country conservation projects. The NGOs include:
Asian Elephant Specialist Group
*Cambodia Elephant Conservation Group *Compass Films *Danau Girang Field Centre *Elephant Conservation Network *

Fauna & Flora International Fauna & Flora International (FFI) is an international conservation charity and non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the planet's threatened wildlife and habitats. Founded in 1903, it is the world's oldest international conserv ...

*Grow Back for Posterity *Hutan *IFAW *IUCNI *

Nature Conservation Foundation The Nature Conservation Foundation is a non-governmental wildlife conservation and research organisation based in Mysore, India. They promote the use of science for wildlife conservation in India. History The Nature Conservation Foundation was ...

* The DodoBase *The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation *Vesswic *Veterinary Society for Sumatran Wildlife Conservation *

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

* Wildlife Protection Society of India *

Wildlife Trust of India The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is an Indian nature conservation organisation. WTI was formed in November 1969 in New Delhi, India, as a response to the rapidly deteriorating condition of wildlife in India. WTI is a registered charity in Indi ...

World Land Trust The World Land Trust is a UK registered charity. It raises money to buy and then protect environmentally-threatened land in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In 2018 it claimed to have raised more than £25 million and to have bought ...

*Wildlife Society of Odisha

Royal presidents

and

References

External links

* * {{EW charity, 1091671 Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Organizations established in 2002