First Annual Elephant Appreciation Day Officially announced in Chase's Calendar of Events, 1996 Edition. NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company A Tribune Education Company 4255 W Touhy Avenue Lincolnwood, IL 60646-1975 FAX: 847-679-2494 Voice: 847-679-5500 ©1996 39th year of publication, 10,000+ entries, a valuable resource. Origin of Elephant Appreciation Day: WHAT ... Elephant Appreciation Day was declared beginning in 1996 by WildHeart® Productions [*] to celebrate the Elephant because... is the largest land mammal of our era, is unique among mammals for its trunk, is the most noble of beasts on earth, is most undeservedly threatened with extinction, has been man's benefactor in numerous ways throughout history, is entertaining and amusing, is gentle and friendly, contributes to ecosystem development and maintenance, and generally deserves to be appreciated and upheld as an example of courage, strength, self-reliance, patience, persistence, and general high quality of being. WHO ... Elephant Appreciation Day (a/k/a) Elephant Day is sponsored by WildHeart® Productions, a trade style registered with the State of Florida, of Mission Media, Inc., a digital and print publisher of graphics. Mission Media is wholly owned by the Hepburn Family in Sarasota, Florida. Wayne Hepburn, the Publisher and President, established the day for the reasons outlined above. WHY ... The founder, Wayne Hepburn, while living in the Chicago area in 1970 received as a gift from his twelve year old daughter a paperweight whose base was encircled by a parade of elephants. He subsequently bought here and there an elephant figure. By 1978 when he moved to Orange Park, Florida he had eighty or so elephants crowding out the books in his living room bookcase. He became more interested in elephants and began reading and learning about them, seeking them out, riding them, and fed his growing passion for elephants with a collection which in 1997 numbers one thousand nine hundred nine catalogued items. The catalogued items include: figures, toys, clothing articles, books (over 100), music boxes, jewelry, prints and original art ... in short, every imaginable art and artifact bearing or made in the likeness of an elephant. In addition he has collected examples of elephant images used in publicity, advertising, brand identifications, cartoons, and all manner of print and other media applications. He obtained a world wide web domain, wildheart.com in 1996 and posted the only site of its kind on the web ... WildHeart's ELEPHANTERIA as a place where people who love elephants can find their heart's desires and links to everything not contained in the site. HOW ... Elephant Appreciation Day / Elephant Day, unlike community festivals, has no central event. It is to be observed and enjoyed by anyone anywhere on a local level. THANK YOU for your interest in ELEPHANTS. "Elephant Day" and "Elephant Appreciation Day" are trademarks established in interstate commerce by and for Mission Media, Inc. Use is permitted for non-profit non-commercial purposes without license. All other use requires licensing by trademark owner. [*] The trademark Wildheart was subsequently sold by Mission Media to another organization for its exclusive use. All references on this site to Wildheart are merely for historical accuracy. There is no longer any connection between this site's owner, Mission Media/Wayne Hepburn, and the Wildheart interests. M E N U To see any of the items in this list just click on the icon at left of the description. Start your day off right with an Elephant Breakfast. Want to hunt elephants ? Try this Puzzle. Learn to do the Elephant Day Dances. Have a Party! Bake an Elephant Day Cake For dessert, make a batch of Elephoot Cookies Learn and recite the Elephant Poem Make Elephant Day Flags or Posters. Make Elephant Day Badges. Make an Elephant Mask. Treat your guests to a delightful Elephruit Salad. Make a Hallowe'en JackElophantern. Teacher's Unit from University of Missouri Elephant Parts Word Puzzle Elephant Day Sign you can print Elephant Appreciation Day was featured in the magazine Animaland published by the ASPCA in October 1999.