Remembering Elephants was the initiative of wildlife photographer Margot Raggett who started this project with the aim of raising funds to use in various anti-poaching operations in Africa, managed by the Born Free Foundation. The Remembering Elephants coffee table book has stunning elephant images donated by 55 professional wildlife photographers, plus an additional 10 images selected in a competition. I was honoured to have my 'Waterline' image selected and traveled to London in September for the launch of the book. All the images were framed, exhibited in a gallery and sold to raise additional funds. The VIP exhibition evening, followed by the book launch evening, had interesting and informative guest speakers. Both events were exceptional and I met many dedicated photographers and conservationists. With sales of the book/prints/auctions/donations, etc, around £115,000.00 has been raised at present. Well done to all involved and for further information please visit www.rememberingelephants.com and www.bornfree.org.uk
It is estimated that an elephant is poached every 15 minutes, absolutely horrifying for these intelligent, caring animals who have strong family units and are very social. There were around 10 million elephants in Africa 100 years ago and these numbers have dropped to around 400,000, with an average of 30,000 poached every year for their ivory.