LOS ANGELES (August 11, 2017) – In celebration of World Elephant Day tomorrow, Wonderful Pistachios, known for its “Get Crackin’” ad campaign featuring Ernie the Elephant, a pistachio-loving, computer-generated spokes-elephant who refuses to work for peanuts, and is voiced by WWE Superstar John Cena, announced a $100,000 donation to Save the Elephants to support anti-poaching efforts throughout Africa. Tragically, tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year by poachers for their ivory.

To combat this slaughter, Save the Elephants and its US partner the Wildlife Conservation Network are vetting and funding the best work by conservation organizations, wildlife departments, managers of protected areas, and communities to assist their efforts to defend elephants against ivory poachers and traffickers. Save the Elephants are well-known experts in elephant science and conservation and have innovated such conservation tools as new tracking technology, which provides valuable information about how fast elephants move through certain areas (often proportional to the threat level), and can give exact reports on the positions of families and vulnerable bulls, enabling concentration of anti-poaching efforts.

“Our spokes-elephant Ernie is a beloved member of the Wonderful Pistachios family who symbolizes the spirit of all elephants, everywhere” said Adam Cooper, vice president of marketing, Wonderful Pistachios. “This donation represents our commitment to protecting a truly Wonderful species, whose very survival is in jeopardy.”

"The world has united around a simple strategy to save elephants from the scourge of the ivory trade: Stop the Killing, Stop the Trafficking, and Stop the Demand” said Frank Pope, CEO of Save the Elephants. “Thanks to the support of Wonderful Pistachios, Save the Elephants is able to make catalytic and deep investments in on-the-ground projects in each of these strategies to save this majestic and iconic species. We are grateful to The Wonderful Company and its visionary leadership in ensuring that the wild counterparts of Ernie the Elephant can thrive for generations to come."

One hundred percent of Wonderful Pistachios’ $100,000 donation will help support the following activities:

• Support an anti-poaching boat unit in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique
• Enlist aerial anti-poaching patrols over the Kasigau Corridor in Kenya to monitor key elephant locations and provide deterrent to poaching activities
• Provide real-time tracking of elephant herds in northern Cameroon (Bouba Ndjida National Park) through deployment of satellite GPS collars + aerial law enforcement surveillance, and
• Provide resources and tools to train 60 new anti-poaching rangers in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo

“Elephants are fast disappearing from the wild, and without urgent, international action they could be gone within a generation” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Dphil, CBE, Founder and President, Save the Elephants. “This generous donation from Wonderful Pistachios will help us continue our critical mission to secure a future for elephants in harmony with people.”

To make your own contribution to Save the Elephants’ important work in Africa, please visit http://www.savetheelephants.org/new-donate-page-US/. For more information on Wonderful Pistachios, the “Get Crackin’” campaign, or to view current and past Ernie commercials, please visit GetCrackin.com or Facebook at Facebook.com/WonderfulPistachios.

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds is the world’s largest vertically integrated pistachio and almond grower and processor. Located in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley, Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds owns, cultivates and harvests more than 65,000 acres of pistachio and almond orchards and delivers more than 450 million pounds of nuts globally each year. Our world-class operation supplies both industrial and retail customers, offering high-quality, consistent supply and adherence to rigorous food safety standards. Our nuts can be found in stores nationwide under the flagship retail brands of Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Almonds. Our iconic Get Crackin’ campaign has inspired consumers to make healthy choices.

Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds is part of The Wonderful Company, a successful, fast-growing privately held $4 billion company with 8,500 employees worldwide. We’ve made Wonderful Pistachios one of America’s top-selling salty snacks. We’ve turned pomegranates and POM Wonderful into a worldwide phenomenon. Wonderful Halos is the No. 1 mandarin orange in America. FIJI Water is the No. 1 premium bottled water in America. JUSTIN Wine produces California’s top-selling, high-end Cabernet Sauvignon. And Teleflora is the world’s largest flower delivery service.

The Wonderful Company has a long-standing commitment to corporate social responsibility, including more than $200 million invested in environmental technologies and sustainability research, $45 million in charitable giving and education initiatives every year, $80 million toward the construction of a new charter school campus in California’s Central Valley, and innovative health and wellness programs, including two new, free primary care clinics for employees and their dependents. To learn more about The Wonderful Company, its products and core values, visit www.wonderful.com, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Save the Elephants (www.savetheelephants.org)

Save the Elephants works to secure a future for elephants in Africa. Specializing in elephant research, STE provides scientific insights into elephant behaviour, intelligence, and long-distance movements and applies them to the challenges of elephant survival. Through our thriving education and outreach programmes, we reach out to hearts and minds, making local people the true custodians of their own rich heritage. Our human-elephant conflict mitigation projects, especially beehive fences, have reduced the number of crop-raiding incidents, and provide farmers with elephant-friendly alternative sources of income. To battle the current surge in ivory poaching, our Elephant Crisis Fund is identifying and supporting the most effective partners in Africa and in the ivory consuming nations to stop poaching, thwart traffickers and end demand for ivory.