The Porch Visits The Oklahoma City Zoo For Asian Elephant Awareness Month

With August being Asian Elephant Awareness Month, the Oklahoma City Zoo partnering with international conservation programs to protect the species.

The Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages Porch traveled to the Oklahoma City Zoo to learn more about the zoo's efforts here in Oklahoma and around the world.

Nadia Miecznikowski, one of the caregivers for the zoo's elephants, said she just returned from a conservation project in Sri Lanka.

"The Oklahoma City Zoo is leading a project in Sri Lanka called the Sri Lanka Elephant Project," Miecznikowski said. "We have two really main focus points through that research. So the first one is all about elephants, elephant demographics, how are they moving? How are they affected by humans? And then the second half is all about humans. How are humans impacted by elephants? Because human-elephant conflict is the number one threat to Asian elephants in Sri Lanka."

With around 6,000 wild Asian elephants on the island nation, Miecznikowski said Sri Lanka has the highest density of Asian elephants anywhere in the world.

Miecznikowski also said for those wanting to learn more about their efforts, they host a presentation on the Sri Lanka Elephant Project at 2 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

"By coming to the zoo, rounding up for conservation is the number one way that you can help us" Miecznikowski said. "The Sri Lanka elephant project is 100% funded through that program. So just by rounding up that dollar or up to the nearest dollar, that small bit of change really makes a change. It makes an impact."