Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey makes the most of a free week to visit Colchester Zoo to highlight plight of elephants and rhinos

• Aaron Ramsey makes no secret of his passion for animal conservation
• He visited Colchester Zoo to raise awareness of the plight of elephants
• The Arsenal man also paid tribute to killed British pilot Roger Gower

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey made the most of a rare free week by visiting Colchester Zoo to promote his passion for animal conservation and to raise awareness of the plight of endangered species.

The 25-year-old Wales international feels particularly strongly about the danger faced by elephants and made the visit to the zoo after learning about the death of British pilot Roger Gower, who was murdered last month in Tanzania when elephant poachers shot his helicopter out of the sky.

'Roger was obviously tragically shot down and he was killed,' Ramsey said in a video posted on his Twitter page. 

Aaron Ramsey visited Colchester Zoo to highlight the plight of elephants out in the wild

The Arsenal midfielder is passionate about animal conservation and helping endangered species 

Ramsey visited after British pilot Roger Gower was murdered last month in Tanzania by elephant poachers

The Wales international also uploaded videos to social media to promote his visit to the zoo

'He was doing something he really believed in and was fighting for. Hopefully we can turn things around. It is people like him who are going to have the impact on trying to do that.'

Ramsey has raised money for the World Wildlife Foundation and looks to actively play a role in their preservation of elephants and rhinos.

'There's 100 elephants dying every day in Africa due to poaching,' Ramsey said.