Elissa Sursara

Elissa Sursara (born February 14, 1988) is an Australian ecologist, correspondent and filmmaker appearing on television and radio. She is also an occasional actress. Sursara is perhaps best known for conservation efforts benefiting marine life, wildlife and habitat preservation and for her affiliations with high-profile environmental groups. She is actively involved in the mediation of cruelty to animals and promotes a sustainable lifestyle.

Sursara rose to prominence in 2008 as an advocate for environmental issues and animal rights. She has a large public following and interacts with fans on a verified Twitter and Facebook page and on her website. Sursara is the ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund climate change campaign Earth Hour, for WSPA and for Australia Zoo’s Wildlife Warriors. She is a member on the Board of Advisors for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and has served as an Antarctic campaigns crew member with the organization since 2012, appearing on Animal Planet’s documentary series Whale Wars.

Early life, family and education
Elissa Sursara was born on February 14, 1988, in Sydney, Australia. She was raised in Avalon Beach, New South Wales, moving often around the Northern Suburbs. She has two brothers.

After completing partial studies in biomedical engineering, Sursara studied Environmental Science and Communications at the Australian National University. She holds qualifications in and film production and broadcasting from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

Career
Sursara is an environmental scientist, journalist, documentary filmmaker, research diver, correspondent and occasional actress. She conducts scientific study of priority species and broadcasts information in print and other media to advocate for conservation. Sursara has worked professionally in a number of priority habitats, including Indonesia, South Africa, the Galapagos and Antarctica. She works to promote improved standards of animal welfare for wildlife, marine life and domestic animals and to protect habitats and natural resources. Her work is supported by several high-profile organizations including Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, PETA and the Environmental Investigation Agency. In addition to her own conservation initiatives, Sursara uses her name to add gravitas and fund-raising capacity to other non-profit organizations and individuals.

Sursara is considered of influence regarding environmental conservation and wildlife. She has contributed to commentary, editorials and features to several publications and organisations, including WWF's Earth Hour, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Environmental Investigation Agency, PETA Asia Pacific and several newspapers published by Fairfax Media including the Newcastle Herald.



Her film contributions have been featured on the BBC and others.

Sursara has been heavily affiliated with direct action environmentalism throughout her career, often engaging in (and occasionally spearheading) physical interventions on behalf of wildlife.

In May 2012, Sursara joined TakePart as a correspondent, contributing articles and commentary on wildlife issues and environmental news.

Beginning in October 2012, Sursara is a naval quartermaster on the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's flagship vessel MY Steve Irwin; aboard, Sursara is responsible for the ship's navigation, maintenance of nautical charts and maps and for applying helm orders.

She is the ambassador for climate change campaign Earth Hour by the WWF with Miranda Kerr, Peter Garrett and Mat McHugh of The Beautiful Girls, for WSPA Australia’s Humane Chain and Voices of Influence, and for Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors program.

Sursara developed a viral following from 2005 after her photos and information were used in social identity cloning.

Her celebrity has seen her personal life loosely documented in the media.

From 1994 to 2003, Sursara worked as a child actress.

Actress
At age four, Sursara was featured in national clothing campaigns for Target and Pumpkin Patch. Her first televised role was at age eleven in a Pepsi commercial filmed on location in Australia's outback. At fourteen, she was hired to host an educational morning show for children, Para Crianças on BC56, a Brazilian television station on a free-to-air network. Her television credits include minor roles on Touched by an Angel (1994), American Gothic (1996), Boston Public (2001), Marion Bridge (2002), Touch & Go (2003) and Going for Broke (2004).

In October 2012, Sursara joined the cast of Whale Wars, a weekly documentary-style reality television series aired on the Animal Planet cable channel. The series follows the actions of Paul Watson and the crew aboard Sea Shepherd’s various vessels as they intercept and prevent whaling operations from the Japanese whaling fleet off the coast of Antarctica.

Conservation
In March 2012, Sursara joined the WWF “I Will If You Will” campaign challenging more than 1000 fans to buy dolphin-safe products. As part of her terms, Sursara committed to joining the Cove Guardians to highlight the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. Other celebrity participants included Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr and Giuliana Rancic. According to Earth Hour, Sursara’s 2012 pledge was accepted quickly and before any of the other participants.



In May 2012, Sursara collaborated with WSPA as an ambassador to their campaign to end live export, Humane Chain. The campaign appeals to relevant government and agricultural industries to end animal abuse inflicted on cattle and other farm animals transported in the live export trade.

In October 2012, Sursara joined Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a naval quartermaster and Antarctic crew member on the MY Steve Irwin for the organization's ninth whale defence campaign, Operation Zero Tolerance. The operation was Sea Shepherd's first campaign with the addition of a fourth vessel to the Neptune's Navy, the MY Sam Simon, donated by The Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon. Sursara spent close to five months at sea for Operation Zero Tolerance to obstruct Japanese whaling operations in the Australian Antarctic Territory. On February 20, 2013, the MY Steve Irwin was allegedly rammed by the Nisshin Maru factory ship in an altercation that significantly damaged the Steve Irwin. No crew were harmed. According to Paul Watson, founder and president of Sea Shepherd, the operation was successful in preventing the slaughter of 932 whales.

Sursara is affiliated with and/or supports organizations including Save Japan Dolphins, The Australian Orangutan Project, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Ape Action Africa, The Black Fish, Orangutan Outreach, 1% for the Planet, Panthera, Cousteau Divers, The Body Shop Foundation, Animals Australia, Oceanic Preservation Society, Wildlife Warriors, and WSPA.

Personal life
Sursara lives on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia.

In December 2011, Sursara was admitted to hospital after contracting both staphylococcus and severe tetanus disease while on a research assignment in Assam, Bengal, India. Sursara fell ill after cutting herself on the debris of a burnout roadside vehicle. Her condition left her mostly immobile for nine months.

In an interview with Pedestrian.TV, Sursara described herself as "adventurous, compassionate and creative." Among her favorite foods are Thai and Indian cuisine.

Views
According to the Animal Liberation Front, Sursara became vegetarian at age fifteen, later going vegan. In the interview with Animal Liberation Front, Sursara stated, "it's a truly halcyon feeling knowing that my actions, consumptions and recreational activities do not inflict suffering any longer", and likened the struggle for animal liberation to that of the liberation of women in the feminist movement. She also supported direct action activism, saying, "Some of the world's greatest revolutionaries used direct-action to end social injustice ... and not unlike these revolutionaries' rhetoric, direct-action for animals never intended to always fall within the idea of pacifism, but does not seek to endanger human life - this was true of the plight to abolish slavery and it's true of animal liberation. Direct-action has always sought to liberate those exploited by a society that refuses to negotiate and confront the issue. It's a mischaracterization, a fallacy sponsored by industries that profit from exploitation, to claim that direct-action on behalf of animals is violent terrorism."

Sursara also identifies as an atheist.

Presence and popularity
Sursara is referred to as a celebrity, conservationist and wildlife expert. Her personal life, including but not limited to personal relationships and social interests are of considerable interest. Her opinions are often sought on various political and ethical issues, including religion, media, feminism and universal politics.

Sursara interacts with fans on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and her website to promote an environmental agenda. Alongside celebrities James Franco, Zac Efron, Ryan Seacrest, Chelsea Handler and Sophia Bush, Sursara posts to WhoSay, an exclusive social media service for celebrities. Her Flickr page has received upward of 3,000,000 views since its creation in August 2009. She is the 25th most popular Australian on Twitter and the 13,810th most popular Twitter user in the world.

An outline of Sursara's popularity, career as a conservationist and former child actress is featured in the book Film Actors: In Detail, made available for purchase on Amazon in 2010.

In 2012 and 2013 consecutively, Sursara was nominated by PETA in their annual Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest alongside Olivia Wilde, Abbie Cornish, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Kiedis, Anne Hathaway, Jared Leto and Kristen Bell among others. In 2013, Sursara was nominated for Pedestrian.TV's 2013 most eligible Bachelorette.

Impersonators
From 2005 to 2008 and occasionally at present, Sursara was a victim of social identity cloning, a phenomenon in which a person creates a fake social networking profile and assumes the identity of another. Television programs including A Current Affair committed coverage to identity cloning in a series of investigative reports, featuring Sursara, in 2009. The phenomenon received considerable media attention. In a 2012 feature story for The Daily Telegraph, journalist Tory Shepherd revealed there were more than 500 MySpace accounts from users claiming to be Elissa Sursara during the height of her impersonations, and discussed the negative and positive impact of identity theft on Sursara's professional and personal life.