Arthur takes us on a profound journey into the heart of conservation efforts in his talk, emphasizing the critical need to protect biodiversity across Central Africa and Europe. Sharing personal anecdotes and insights from his work with wild elephants, Arthur addresses the pressing challenges of poaching, ivory trafficking, and habitat destruction. His talk is a call for collective action, urging us to rethink our relationship with nature and adopt innovative approaches to conservation that respect and preserve the planet's intricate web of life. As a Silesian native from Beskydy mountains Arthur has always been close to nature. Already during his university studies he began to explore vast areas of equatorial Africa and understood the ongoing threat the elephants and other species are facing due to poaching, trafficking and habitat loss. In 2012 – 2013 I set up for a solo 15-months biking and kayaking expedition for nearly 6000 km through the most remote areas to investigate the dark reality of poaching. During the following years until 2020 I have permanently lived in Central Africa and volunteered and worked in nature conservation, mitigation of the human-wildlife conflict, investigating the illegal trade with ivory and other wildlife products and managed the deployment of sniffer dog units. Since 2020 I am based back home in the Czech Republic and actively engaged in landscape and species conservation and raising awareness while regularly moving back to Africa to carry on new missions, projects and collaborations. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx