Article

Five years after reintegrating a captive elephant herd back into the wild on an expansive wildlife reserve in South Africa, the Elephant Reintegration Trust kicked off the final stage of this process with the collaring of this key elephant herd.

The goal is to capture the behavioural and movement data on this herd before and after the introduction of a wild herd of elephants onto this same reserve. Currently the reintegrated herd are the only elephants on this reserve. This final step of introducing an additional herd is incredibly important as it contributes towards achieving more realistic population dynamics for this group. Elephants are a particularly socially complex species and thrive better in the context of a larger, more balanced population structure.

The fitment of the GPS collar, and the data it provides will give us valuable insight into the process involved and herd dynamics that develop as these two new herds get acquainted. These findings will add to the knowledge base we are growing, enabling us to better prioritise elephant welfare when it comes to making management decisions around them. Especially those with perceived complicated histories such as these elephants.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to @hsiafrica for the sponsorship of the satellite collar as part of the larger immuno-contraception project linked to these two herds.