Cape Town – The latest wildlife census information puts the number of African elephants living in the wild at around
And if we’re not careful to do something about the species rapid decline at the hand of ivory poachers or habitat encroachment then the only place we are likely to see elephant are in a digital setting of some sort.
SEE: Alarm over ‘new gag’ on elephant poaching stats
The idea behind Amarula “Name Them, Save Them” campaign, the latest in the Cream Liqueur’s conservation efforts to save the elephant that are also famously known for enjoy the effects of the marula tree – sees an ambitious effort to give a name to every surviving African elephant in the wild.
“Name Them, Save Them” got its start last October when Amarula launched the campaign with a webisode shot in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park which directs viewers to a virtual digital Savannah.
‘Around 96 African elephants are killed by poachers for their ivory’
“The future of the African elephant is at a tipping point. Recent data shows that each day – not each month or even each week – around 96 African elephants are killed by poachers for their ivory. The species simply cannot sustain a slaughter on this scale and survive. This fuelled Amarula to intensify its efforts by joining forces with WildlifeDirect, working closely with respected conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu to save our elephants,” says Dino D’Araujo, Amarula Global General Manager.
“We have always had a special bond with these magnificent creatures as the marula tree and its fruit contribute enormously to the well-being of the elephant and the very existence of Amarula. We had to come up with something that would personalise the plight of the African elephant in a way that would resonate with the international community and rally it to the cause. We think “Name Them, Save Them” is the perfect vehicle for this outreach,” he said.
But we don’t only want to see elephants in a digital African Savannah?
Click here to visit the Amarula digital African Savannah where you can design and name a virtual African elephant – your elephant design then also acts as your signature on a global petition to raise awareness of the plight of the African elephant.
Added to this you can also print it out and create an origami version of the pachyderm – as well as encourage other animal-lovers to do so as well via social.
But most importantly, Amarula will donate $1.00 (USD) to WildlifeDirect for every digital elephant created on the site.
400k unique, awareness raising opportunities
Amarula says in Phase two, the digitalize pachyderms created by the cream liqueur’s on-line audience are being brought to life by putting a named elephant and information regarding the animal on the labels of 400 000 individualised Amarula bottles – one bottle for each of the earth’s remaining African elephants.
And you can be guaranteed that each bottle is unique they say, after using a new print technology, Mosaic, was used to customise each bottle, “with 400, 000 unique labels were crafted, using an algorithm which randomly generates unique images, ensuring that each label is one hundred percent unique.”