Wildlife SOS, a conservation organization dedicated to protecting and saving elephants and other wildlife in India, is asking animal lovers to show off their toes with grey tones on social media this August 12 in conjunction with World Elephant Day.

The campaign aims to raise awareness for endangered wild elephants and elephants suffering in captivity for tourism use in countries like India and Thailand.

According to a rcent release from Wildlife SOS: "Captive elephants in South Asia are taken from the wild as babies and trafficked for tourist rides, photo ops, and street begging. At the turn of the 20th century there were an estimated 1,000,000 elephants living in the wild throughout Asia, but populations have decreased by 96% since then with only about 40,000 remaining, 25,000 of which are in India; approximately 2,500 of those elephants are thought to be captive, forced to labor in India's tourist trade."

People can also participate in the Toe Grey campaign by making a donation for an “elephant pedicure” to help support the care and treatments of the many rescued elephants at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre near Agra, India. Many captive elephants used in the tourist trade suffer from chronic foot damage caused by walking on blistering-hot city streets and stepping on sharp debris. These injuries require constant care, but often receive little or no treatment.

“Now is the time for people to kick off their shoes or wear their best sandals and paint their toes grey to show the world that they care about saving endangered elephants,” said Wildlife SOS CEO Kartick Satyanarayan, who co-founded the organization in 1995.  “Typically, World Elephant Day focuses on the plight of all elephants; this year we are bringing extra attention to the condition of the feet of elephants that are kept in captivity."

How to participate in Toe Grey:

·    Visit a salon for a pedicure and request or bring a favorite grey shade

·      On August 12, take a photo of your feet and post on your social media channels

·      Tag @wildlifesos, #toegrey and #worldelephantday

·      Go to wildlifesos.org/toegrey to donate a pedicure to an elephant in need

About Wildlife SOS:

Wildlife SOS is dedicated to saving wild animals in India, including the declining and endangered wild Asian Elephant populations, as well as the 2,500 captive elephants used for entertainment throughout India. Wildlife SOS currently runs 13 wildlife sanctuaries and centers throughout India, including elephant, sloth bear and leopard sanctuaries, as well as an anti-poaching wildlife crime enforcement unit, and three of the world’s busiest 24-hour wildlife hotlines. Wildlife SOS operates India's largest Elephant Hospital, which offers care to elephants from all over India and features state of the art treatments and technology, as well as India's only elephant ambulance.  For more information: wildlifesos.org.