- A Year in Review -

2025 Asian elephant support annual Report

With your help, we funded 24 projects in 2025 with a value of $124,997.35!

AES Board meeting held in Houston, TX

2025 is in the history books. And what a year it was. The mindset at AES for this last year was set
with the U.S. election results a year ago November. We knew immediately that some of our field
partners doing exceptionally good work over many years just had the carpet pulled out from under
them. Multi-year approved US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) funds would disappear. These were working relationships built on being granted funding for work done as proposed in the grant submitted. And these funds helped minimize human-elephant-conflict issues by keeping wild elephants in safe areas and out of fields and villages, often with the assistance of elephants under the care of humans. And this wasn’t just about the elephants, although that would definitely have been enough. But, ending these already approved grants meant the end to jobs – salaries! – of all the mahouts, veterinarians, and staff people such programs depend on. Many of these people have been with these programs for over 15 years, growing their expertise and dedication to the work they were doing. And most all of these people have family who would also be seriously impacted by the loss of this work.

Field partners affected by the loss of USFWS grants and funds (Left - Wildlife Ambulance, Sumatra Middle - Aaranyak, India Right - Elephant Response Units, Sumatra)

We at AES could not let this happen, and so while our affected field people also went to work looking for
additional funding - not an easy task as almost daily other excellent programs lost their funding and
were also scrambling to keep their efforts going. We started doing fundraisers: Painting for
Pachyderms, Pizza for Pachyderms, Panda Express, and so many of the elephant community friends who
always have our back, came out to help us. Most all will agree that Skydiving for Elephants may sound
way out….er, UP! there for a fundraiser. But Taryn Prosser, the entire crew at African Lion Safari, and so
many more jumpers and those donating in the name of the jumpers, turned this event into one of the
fun-est fundraisers ever – and one of the most successful for the elephants, too, bringing in over
$17,000! So, with sincere thanks to all the skydivers, pizza eaters, artists painting, and those eating
Chinese at Panda Express – as well as our regular generous donor base of individuals, zoos, and AAZK
chapters - the programs we were so worried about have made it through 2025. But we know there are
a lot of other great programs who have lost USFWS/USAID and other funding and are still struggling.

Fun with fundraising! (Left to Right - Painting for Pachyderms, Pizza for Pachyderms in Virginia Beach, Jump for Elephants participants in Canada, Tarryn Prosser Jump for Elephants organizer

While we feel better about facing 2026, we know there are still many good programs for elephants, the
people who work with and for them, and the villages and rural areas that still need better ways to
coexist with wild elephants…..and other wildlife. We are already planning for 2026, and hope you will
again be with us and feel free to invite your friends to join our efforts. There is still so much that needs
to be done!

Just some of Asian Elephant Support's 2025 activities in pictures!

Left - Thailand Annual Regional Elephant Conference, Middle - Wildlife Disease Investigation Webinar Series Right - Wildlife Ambulance in Sumatra

Left - EEHV Lab in Thailand, Middle - Supplementing diet items in Sumatra, Right - Chiang Mai University Mobile Vet Clinic in Thailand

Left - Learning about human-elephant conflict (HEC) issues in India, Middle - HEC education and brochures in Bhutan Right - Connecting with field conservationists of Aaranyak in India

Wishing you a wonderful 2026 filled with good health, compassion, and love!
Linda, Mini, Lindsey, Mary, Justin