[[File:The Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Shri Alphons Kannanthanam addressing the gathering, at the Gaj Mahotsav, on the occasion of the World Elephant Day 2018 celebrations, in New Delhi on August 13, 2018.JPG|thumb|Indian Minister of State for Tourism [[Alphons Kannanthanam]] speaking at a World Elephant Day celebration in [[New Delhi]] on August 13, 2018]]
The first InternationalWorld Elephant Day was held on August 12, 2012.<ref>[http://worldelephantday.org/about "Overview"], ''World Elephant Day website''</ref><ref>Maria Sowter, [http://blog.frontiergap.com/blog/2012/8/9/world-elephant-day-this-sunday.html "World Elephant Day This Sunday"], ''Into The Wild'', 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/12/world-elephant-day-2012-photos_n_1770187.html "World Elephant Day 2012"], ''The Huffington Post'', 2012</ref> The film Return to the Forest, narrated by [[William Shatner]], is about the reintroduction of captive Asian elephants to the wild<ref>[http://www.amnh.org/explore/science-bulletins/bio/documentaries/wild-at-heart-the-plight-of-elephants-in-thailand/elephants-return-to-the-forest "Elephants Return to the Forest"], ''American Museum of Natural History''</ref><ref>[http://www.elephantreintroduction.org/ "Elephant Reintroduction Foundation"], ''Elephant Reintroduction Foundation website''</ref> and was released on the inaugural World Elephant Day.<ref>[http://worldelephantday.org/about/return-to-the-forest "Return to the Forest"], ''World Elephant Day website''</ref> The follow-up feature film [[When Elephants Were Young]], also narrated by [[William Shatner]], depicts the life of a young man and young elephant in Thailand.
