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World Elephant Day 2016: 20 Beautiful Photos Of These Majestic Animals

Such beautiful creatures.
Arti Patel
Baby elephant has a swim at Melbourne Zoo in the hot summer heat on March 31, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.
James D. Morgan via Getty Images
Baby elephant has a swim at Melbourne Zoo in the hot summer heat on March 31, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.

They are beautiful creatures who just happen to be the largest mammals on Earth, but elephants around the world are still at risk of extinction.

Because of continued poaching, destruction of habitat and animal abuse, World Elephant Day (WED) was created by Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims and the Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand to continue to raise awareness of some of the biggest threats to these mammals today.

On Friday, Sims released a documentary titled "When Elephants Were Young," where she follows a man and his elephant who beg on the streets of Bangkok. The documentary also explores the relationship between elephants and humans β€” and to see if these mammals can actually live in a human world peacefully.

But what can you do to help elephants in Asia and Africa? Besides spreading awareness in your own social communities, WED notes you can donate to an organization or hold a screening of Sims' documentary as a fundraiser.

In the meantime, share your love for elephants by sharing some of these stunning photos below:

James D. Morgan via Getty Images
Baby elephant has a swim at Melbourne Zoo in the hot summer heat on March 31, 2015, in Melbourne, Australia.
Barcroft via Getty Images
Nandgopal, 8, and Lavindya, 4, asleep next to Giri, an orphaned elephant calf who was rescued from Javalagiri Range of Hosur Forest Division in southern India, on April 26, 2010, in Chennai, India. These adorable youngsters have found unlikely friends in orphaned elephant calves.
WILLIAM WEST via Getty Images
A five-day-old Asian elephant calf helps his aunty to raise her foot for the keeper at the Melbourne Zoo, on September 15, 2010.
Paula Bronstein via Getty Images
Tourists visiting Kenya watch the baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage Feb. 12, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Andreas Rentz via Getty Images
The three-day-old as yet unnamed baby elephant plays with his mother 'Pori' in their enclosure at the Zoological Garden (Tierpark) Berlin on May 23, 2007, in Berlin, Germany.
SANKA VIDANAGAMA via Getty Images
In this picture taken March 11, 2007, two baby elephants walk at the edge of a water hole at the Udawalawe National Park,some 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Colombo.
STRDEL via Getty Images
An Indian mahout hands a half loaf of bread to a baby elephant at The Assam State Zoo in Guhawati, Oct. 4, 2006, during World Animal Day.
Paula Bronstein via Getty Images
British tourist Nicki Kelk gets her hat taken off her head by a baby elephant at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center July 14, 2006 in Lampang, Thailand.
SIMON MAINA via Getty Images
Orphan baby elephants play on June 22, 2015, at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, a Kenyan wildlife conservation charity.
SIMON MAINA via Getty Images
This picture taken on August 12, 2014, during World Elephant Day, shows orphaned baby elephants at the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, at the Nairobi National Park.
AFP via Getty Images
Three-month-old baby pygmy elephant 'Joe' reacts inside a temporary holding cage at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia's Sabah state on Feb. 6, 2013.
Wolfgang Kaehler via Getty Images
Elephant with baby in Kenya.
ISHARA S.KODIKARA via Getty Images
An elephant looks on at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawela on June 10, 2012.
ISHARA S.KODIKARA via Getty Images
A handler washes an elephant in a river at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawela on June 10, 2012.
HOLGER HOLLEMANN via Getty Images
Asian elephants take a bath in a pool at the zoo in Hanover, northern Germany, on April 27, 2012.
Barcroft via Getty Images
The elephants all walk in a line as they return to their huts for the evening in Nairobi.
Jerry Redfern via Getty Images
A mahout from the Pinnawela elephant orphanage wrangles a crowd of elephants as they take their afternoon bath in a river near the facility.
Wolfgang Kaehler via Getty Images
Young elephants playing in Kenya.
Fabian Bimmer / Reuters
Elephant Nelly plays with a ball, as an "animal oracle" to predict results of the Germany vs Ukraine match at Euro 2016, in the "Safari Park" in Hodenhagen, Germany.
LUKAS SCHULZE via Getty Images
An elephant holds some leaves in his trunk on July 6, 2016, at the Tierpark Hagenbeck zoo in Hamburg, northern Germany.

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