Happy World Elephant Day!
"Happy" might, alas, be the wrong word given how pachyderms have been treated in this world, practically always shamefully despite so much evidence of their intense family bonds, good natures (unlessly treated cruelly and then who doesn't lose their temper?) and their other cute qualities we may or may not be anthropomorphizing. Elephants may go extinct in our lifetime (which is unthinkable) so here are some charitable organizations you should consider supporting if you can that are fighting to save them.
Elephant activists also suggests never supporting the ivory trade which is easy and never going to elephant attractions (I once rode on an elephant as a child but I didn't know anything about animal cruelty back then) because most of them have taken from their mothers to train them. If you're interested in a good doc on the subject of elephants in captivity -- or rather the ways their captors grapple with the morality of it and how thinking around the topic is changing, I'd suggest One Lucky Elephant (2011) which is about a circus man giving up the elephant he'd raised and lived with for 16 years. It's both hopeful and sad.
After saying all that it may seem hypocritical to share favorite photos of celebrities with elephants (as these beasts have obviously been trained or been living in captivity) but we aren't perfect and can't resist the combo of movie stars and anything glorious that they happen to pose with. A beauty break with lots more photos after the jump including Lupita Nyong'o, Barbra Stanwyck, and Harrison Ford...
Julia Roberts with a co-star wearing too much makeup in Eat Pray Love
Julia Roberts with a co-star wearing too much makeup in Eat Pray Love
Joan Blondell in the 1930s posing with a circus elephant
Lupita feeding a baby phant at the Nairobi Elephant Orphanage
Joan Crawford goes "Berserk (1967)" with a feeding! 
Harrison Ford on top of a co-star. He reportedly hated riding them comparing it to medeival rack torture. He also fell off the elephant during filming which halted production
Rihanna with a phant
Reese and Robert care for abused Rosie in Water for Elephants (2011)
Actress Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) is an elephant activist
Kristin Bauer van Straten (True Blood) also loves them.
Rhonda Fleming, who just had a 93rd birthday, gets a surprise pick me up
Okay i photoshopped this one for a movie that didn't happen. Nicole was supposed to make an elephant activism movie back in 2012
Let's end with Tony Jaa hugging an elephant in The Protector, which is all about him trying to save them... or rather him beating up bad guys who kidnap them.
