Surrounded by a burgeoning human population, Asian elephants have to contend with the spread of settlements and farming, and the demands of rapidly developing nations: plantations, mines, railways, and irrigation canals have carved up former wilderness.

Elephant populations in India and also in the whole of Asia are under severe stress. The captive ones are rendered jobless due to changes in the mode of transport and lifestyle of people. The ones in the wild are also no better off, as the forests are shrinking.

Mark Shand

elephant better stress people

Save the elephants, and then you save the forest - and then you save yourself.

Mark Shand

save forest yourself you

Elephants love to play around. They are very intelligent animals. They have a strong bond, at times stretching to several decades, with their mahouts.

Mark Shand

bond strong play love

You can cut a tree down, and it grows back. Once a species goes, it's gone forever.

Mark Shand

down back you tree

I've known elephants with broken hearts, others with depression.

Mark Shand

hearts others broken depression

The combination of a brand like Cartier and the immense heritage that India holds can go places.

Mark Shand

brand go heritage india

There is no need for use of torture instruments such as ankush for controlling the elephants. We can do it with the help of verbal commands.

Mark Shand

help need torture use

If you cut down the forest, you know what happens: The whole of Asia turns into a desert. Without water, you're talking civil unrest, war, mud slides - the whole bloody lot.

Mark Shand

you desert water war

When you look at elephant herds that are nonstressed, the males are never around. They mate, they go; they're loners.

Mark Shand

elephant never look you

I was probably spoilt, if I'm being totally honest.

Mark Shand

totally being spoilt honest

If I was a businessman, I could have made a huge amount of money. But none of that really crossed my mind while I was young and traveling.

Mark Shand

businessman money young mind

I'd always thought hurricanes were romantic, with pretty feminine names like Celestine.

Mark Shand

thought like always romantic

If you look back at history, the various Maharajas of the Indian empire actually helped support a whole British industry. The royalty in those days ordered exotic cars in huge numbers.

Mark Shand

look you support history

Elephants seek food elsewhere if their route is blocked, and raiding crops and grain stores brings them into conflict with people, often resulting in deaths on both sides.

Mark Shand

both-sides conflict food people

In the central Indian state of Orissa, mining has scarred the landscape, and it is already too late to secure most of the traditional elephant corridors.

Mark Shand

elephant landscape late too-late

There are 13 Asian countries that still have elephants, and Elephant Family is looking to invest in further projects that will be the most critical for saving elephants while there is still time.

Mark Shand

elephant looking family time

I've always found people to be by far the biggest problem-causers in life.

Mark Shand

far always life people

My flat is a bit like an oriental bazaar. It's filled with the oddest objects from all my travels, and you can't really move in it. I love collecting antiques and often spend weekends driving around bric-a-brac markets.

Mark Shand

like you driving love

Surrounded by a burgeoning human population, Asian elephants have to contend with the spread of settlements and farming, and the demands of rapidly developing nations: plantations, mines, railways, and irrigation canals have carved up former wilderness.

Mark Shand

The elephant can survive only if forests survive.

People are so difficult. Give me an elephant any day.

Elephant populations in India and also in the whole of Asia are under severe stress. The captive ones are rendered jobless due to changes in the mode of transport and lifestyle of people. The ones in the wild are also no better off, as the forests are shrinking.

Save the elephants, and then you save the forest - and then you save yourself.

Elephants love to play around. They are very intelligent animals. They have a strong bond, at times stretching to several decades, with their mahouts.

You can cut a tree down, and it grows back. Once a species goes, it's gone forever.

I've known elephants with broken hearts, others with depression.

The combination of a brand like Cartier and the immense heritage that India holds can go places.

There is no need for use of torture instruments such as ankush for controlling the elephants. We can do it with the help of verbal commands.

If you cut down the forest, you know what happens: The whole of Asia turns into a desert. Without water, you're talking civil unrest, war, mud slides - the whole bloody lot.

When you look at elephant herds that are nonstressed, the males are never around. They mate, they go; they're loners.

I was probably spoilt, if I'm being totally honest.

If I was a businessman, I could have made a huge amount of money. But none of that really crossed my mind while I was young and traveling.

I'd always thought hurricanes were romantic, with pretty feminine names like Celestine.

If you look back at history, the various Maharajas of the Indian empire actually helped support a whole British industry. The royalty in those days ordered exotic cars in huge numbers.

Elephants seek food elsewhere if their route is blocked, and raiding crops and grain stores brings them into conflict with people, often resulting in deaths on both sides.

In the central Indian state of Orissa, mining has scarred the landscape, and it is already too late to secure most of the traditional elephant corridors.

There are 13 Asian countries that still have elephants, and Elephant Family is looking to invest in further projects that will be the most critical for saving elephants while there is still time.

I've always found people to be by far the biggest problem-causers in life.

My flat is a bit like an oriental bazaar. It's filled with the oddest objects from all my travels, and you can't really move in it. I love collecting antiques and often spend weekends driving around bric-a-brac markets.