In celebration of World Elephant Day tomorrow, Wonderful Pistachios, known for its “Get Crackin’” ad campaign featuring Ernie the Elephant, a pistachio-loving, computer-generated spokes-elephant who refuses to work for peanuts, and is voiced by WWE Superstar John Cena, announced a $100,000 donation to Save the Elephants to support anti-poaching efforts throughout Africa. Tragically, tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year by poachers for their ivory.
To combat this slaughter, Save the Elephants and its US partner the Wildlife Conservation Network are vetting and funding the best work by conservation organizations, wildlife departments, managers of protected areas, and communities to assist their efforts to defend elephants against ivory poachers and traffickers. Save the Elephants are well-known experts in elephant science and conservation and have innovated such conservation tools as new tracking technology, which provides valuable information about how fast elephants move through certain areas (often proportional to the threat level), and can give exact reports on the positions of families and vulnerable bulls, enabling concentration of anti-poaching efforts.
“Our spokes-elephant Ernie is a beloved member of the Wonderful Pistachios family who symbolizes the spirit of all elephants, everywhere” said Adam Cooper, vice president of marketing, Wonderful Pistachios. “This donation represents our commitment to protecting a truly Wonderful species, whose very survival is in jeopardy.”
"The world has united around a simple strategy to save elephants from the scourge of the ivory trade: Stop the Killing, Stop the Trafficking, and Stop the Demand” said Frank Pope, CEO of Save the Elephants. “Thanks to the support of Wonderful Pistachios, Save the Elephants is able to make catalytic and deep investments in on-the-ground projects in each of these strategies to save this majestic and iconic species. We are grateful to The Wonderful Company and its visionary leadership in ensuring that the wild counterparts of Ernie the Elephant can thrive for generations to come."
One hundred percent of Wonderful Pistachios’ $100,000 donation will help support the following activities:
- Support an anti-poaching boat unit in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique
- Enlist aerial anti-poaching patrols over the Kasigau Corridor in Kenya to monitor key elephant locations and provide deterrent to poaching activities
- Provide real-time tracking of elephant herds in northern Cameroon (Bouba Ndjida National Park) through deployment of satellite GPS collars + aerial law enforcement surveillance, and
- Provide resources and tools to train 60 new anti-poaching rangers in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo
“Elephants are fast disappearing from the wild, and without urgent, international action they could be gone within a generation” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Dphil, CBE, Founder and President, Save the Elephants. “This generous donation from Wonderful Pistachios will help us continue our critical mission to secure a future for elephants in harmony with people.”
Contact:
Katie Jang
The Wonderful company
Tel: 310-966-5817