Posted
on March 13, 2015
Today
the people of Thailand celebrate their national animal and raise
awareness of the endangered status of Asian elephants.
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| Above is the current flag of Thailand. Below are some other (and older) versions. |
Why
March 13? This is the anniversary of the day that the white elephant
was chosen to be the national animal, and that a white elephant was
added to an older version of the Thai flag.
In some places in Thailand, Elephant Day will be celebrated with special buffet luncheons for elephants, traditional blessing ceremonies, and even elephant shows.
The
people of Thailand have been utilizing elephants as transport, in
work, and in battle—and they have been doing so for thousands of
years. Despite the fact that the Thai people, to some extent, depend
on elephants as well as celebrate them, the elephant population has
plummeted in the past century. Apparently the main two factors are
loss of habitat because of human activities and climate changes.
So...what
does “plummeted” mean, exactly? According to Wikipedia,
there used to be around 100,000 elephants in Thailand, but now there
are only 2,000 to 3,000 wild elephants as well as about 2,700
domesticated elephants.
At
the elephant feasts, there are special treats such as watermelons
and pineapples as well as daily staples such as sugar cane and
bananas. Normally, a Thai elephant eats around six tons of grass,
bananas, and sugar cane every day.
Also
on this date:
Donald Duck's birthday
Look Up at the Night Sky Day
Scientist Joseph Priestly's birthday (he “discovered” oxygen!)
Plan ahead:
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out my Pinterest boards for:
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