ROCK THE ELEPHANT®
FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCTS ©
crisis
The African continent and its wildlife have been under assault for decades. The financial rewards from wildlife products have lured sophisticated, transnational organized crime syndicates to orchestrate ivory, rhino horn and wildlife poaching and smuggling. In addition, human-wildlife conflict has created deep resentment in many rural communities to harm or kill their wildlife. Poverty runs rampant in these same areas creating more conflict between man and animal, not to mention the increasing continent-wide bush meat trade and exponential growth of livestock in Africa. Both continue to push wildlife and ecosystems to the brink. Conservation is a war we are losing.
THE TIPPING POINT is here for the African elephant and all wildlife across Africa. Consequently, international public awareness of this issue has skyrocketed in the past twenty-four months.
SADLY, HUMAN BEINGS are the #1 cause of the decline in elephant, rhino, and wildlife populations worldwide.
- An African elephant dies every 15 minutes.
- At least three rhino are killed every 24 hours.
The high price of rhino horn and ivory have lured sophisticated criminal elements – the same groups that smuggle arms, people and drugs now orchestrate the poaching and smuggling of these iconic species.
ABOUT
Out of 100% of all charitable donation, only 3% goes to the environment and of that, less than 1% goes to support wildlife. At this low percentage level of funding and awareness, everything from elephants and rhinos to Polar bears, Bengal tigers to Whale sharks and Manta rays don’t stand a chance. This status quo is deadly. We are going to change that.
Why ROCK THE ELEPHANT®? Thousands of years ago the earliest sounds heard by the human ear were a roar, a howl, or a mastodon’s rumble. Sounds that make your hair stand on end. Sounds that awaken your senses and fill you with a take-your-breath-away aliveness sorely missing today. Tribal drumming by ancient peoples tapped into this same frequency. Music is rooted in our DNA and it is OUR medium. Music transcends and unites.
There’s a word called prosody. It basically refers to the sound qualities of human speech. A friend of ours, Carl Safina, wrote, “Sound sometimes carries emotion across species.” This speaks a profound truth to us.
We are a global platform for people, companies, organizations and philanthropists to announce major funding commitments and campaigns to address the wildlife crisis taking place in Africa and around the globe. Within this realm, we reignite our visceral connection to nature. The primal beauty of wild things and wild places drive us and our mission.
Our events are curated to be powerful experiences projected to people around the planet at a pinnacle moment in the history of our environment, our wildlife, and our humanity. We live to activate the zeitgeist.
The situation in Africa is complex and with our NGO partners, our objective is to end poaching, human-wildlife conflict, and poverty.
LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER
Dear global citizen,
As a lover of wildlife, I know many people, my friends included, who think how could I be worried about an elephant, rhino, tiger, whale, or a Monarch butterfly when there are so many human problems that need help? From diseases, to mass killings, and human rights violations to population growth, there is no shortage of issues… So, what is wrong with me? Do I care for animals more than people?
Wild animals, marine life, our beloved dogs and cats… I don’t see their survival and ours as an either/or proposition. It’s not a competition. If I choose to live near Mountain Lion habitat and I leave my dog outside out at night and he isn’t there in the morning, I don’t expect the Fish & Wildlife Service to come and kill the Mountain Lion. Either I am conscious and careful when living in Mountain Lion habitat—or I’m not.
Humans are the #1 cause of the decline in elephant, rhino, and wildlife populations worldwide.
An African elephant dies every 15 minutes.
At least three rhino are killed every 24 hours.
contact
To participate or for more information, please contact us directly at
info@rocktheelephant.org