Throwback Thursday: 5 years ago Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton stood for a portrait for me in Samburu National Reserve, a wild bull elephant close behind him, for an assignment for Google for a feature in ElleUSA magazine.
If you don’t know who Iain DG is… and you love animals especially elephants … then here’s a quick intro into this amazing man:
Iain is a zoologist known for his study of elephants, his main research being to understand elephant choices by studying their movements. Iain helped bring about the world ivory trade ban and in 1993, he founded Save The Elephants, a charity whose mission is “to secure a future for elephants by preserving the environments in which the animals live and encouraging a tolerant relationship between elephant and human populations”.
Iain has received the biggest awards in conservation: the Order of the Golden Ark, Order of the British Empire (CBE), the Indianapolis Prize, and the Lilly Medal.
Regarding the horrific poaching crisis facing elephant populations today Iain remains optimistic: “I’ve been through all this before in the 70s and 80s. As a collective group we stopped that killing. I believe we can do it again”.
To Planet Heroes like Iain: “Thank you for the work that you do protecting what we have left. Let us all endeavour to be like you, Let’s protect what we have!”
~ To learn more of the important work that Save The Elephants do (and perhaps to donate even a small amount): CLICK HERE
~ To see the full Elle Mag article: “Google’s Secret Weapon To Save Africa’s Elephants”
