Since 2011, August 12 has been set aside as World Elephant Day. Supported by numerous conservation agencies, it’s a day to “spread awareness, share knowledge, and provide solutions for better care and management of both captive and wild elephants,” according to the organizer’s website. Elephants face numerous challenges, including poaching, habitat loss, exploitation, abuse, and proximity to human conflict and poverty. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists African elephants as “vulnerable” and Asian elephants as “endangered.” On this World Elephant Day, I present a collection of images of these amazing animals splashing, bathing, swimming, and enjoying the water.
World Elephant Day
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A girl watches as Saen Dao, an eight-year-old female Asian elephant, and her mahout perform underwater during a show at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi south of Bangkok on June 1, 2017. #
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty -
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A herd of wild elephants play in the Deeparbil wetland, a wildlife sanctuary, in Deeparbil, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Gauhati, India, on May 3, 2007. At least thirty wild elephants and calfs from the nearby Garbhanga reserve forests came down to Deeparbil to cool themselves off in the water. #
Anupam Nath / AP -
Six month-old baby elephant 'Clear Sky' receives assistance from her guardians during a hydrotherapy session at a local clinic in Chonburi province on January 5, 2017. After losing part of her left foot in a snare in Thailand, baby elephant 'Clear Sky' is now learning to walk again -- in water. #
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty -
A tame elephant sprays water at foreign tourists during a safari ride in Sigiriya, about 100 kilometers (62 miles), north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka,on December 2, 2011. #
Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP -
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Melbourne Zoo's new Asian elephant - named Baby for the time being - goes for a run through the water after going on display to the public for the first time on February 10, 2010. #
William West / AFP / Getty -
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A visitor to the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Center in Malaysia reacts as she is splashed by fellow visitors while swimming with a baby elephant on May 24, 2012. The conservation center is responsible for the translocation of elephants from areas of human encroachment in peninsular Malaysia as well as home to orphaned elephants that were not part of the 600 relocated since it's inception in 1989. #
Mark Baker / AP -
Six month-old baby elephant 'Clear Sky' is kept afloat with the help of a harness during a hydrotherapy session at a local veterinary clinic in Chonburi Province on January 5, 2017. The six-month-old is the first elephant to receive hydrotherapy at an animal hospital in Chonburi province, a few hours from Bangkok. The goal is to strengthen the withered muscles in her front leg, which was wounded three months ago in an animal trap laid by villagers to protect their crops. #
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty -
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A boy reacts as Saen Dao, an eight-year-old female Asian elephant, and her mahout plunge underwater during a show at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi south of Bangkok on June 1, 2017. #
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty -
Two baby elephants play during a regular bath at a river close to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage in Pinnawala, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 10, 2012. The orphanage which is home to 83 elephants currently is a major tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. #
Gemunu Amarasinghe / AP -
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Six month-old baby elephant 'Clear Sky' rests her head on the shoulder of one of her guardians during a short break in a hydrotherapy session at a clinic in Chonburi Province on January 5, 2017. #
Roberto Schmidt / AFP / Getty
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