News

Research grant from Humane World for Animals

May 13, 2021

ERT received a three-year grant to continue our research on elephants in South Africa. Our research focusses on the welfare of elephants on fenced reserves. Our goal is to continue helping to mitigate management challenges through better understanding the impacts of environmental factors (including population structures), tourism and various management interventions. The monitoring of reintegrated herds will also continue as we evaluate the long-term changes in behaviour, movement patterns, herd dynamics and response towards various stimuli.

More about our research focus areas:

Elephant behaviour

Monitoring detailed behavioural frequencies, social interactions between different individuals, behaviour towards vehicles and other species.
Studying the effect of GnRH on the behaviour of bull elephants and the e

Elephant movement patterns

Determining the home range sizes, seasonal changes in movement, effect of diurnal cycle on movement patterns, and adaptation after translocation or reintegrations.

Stress-levels:

Studying the impact of various management and tourist interventions on the stress-levels of elephants.

We are bringing a remarkable chapter of a successful rewilding story to a close

2025 marks the 10th anniversary of our incredible story of the rewilded African elephant on !Khamab Kalahari reserve. We will be celebrating this success story by removing the GPS collars

New project: Understanding elephant well-being in National Parks in South Africa

We begin our study looking at the interactions between tourists and elephants in National parks in an effort to understand the rise in reported incidences of human elephant conflict instances.

ERT presents at the PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society) conference in Los Angeles

The conference provided an opportunity to highlight some valuable findings that we have noted over the last 5 years of studying these elephants, reiterating elephants don't thrive in captivity and

Publication: ERT continues to debunk misconceptions regarding elephants in captivity

Publication on our research on the welfare of Rewilded Elephants in South Africa. The study explores how elephants’ behavioural repertoires and frequencies change throughout a reintegration operation in comparison to

Publication: Rewilding-proof of success!

Our study on the movement patterns of two rewilded herds has continued to amaze us. This study underpins the potential of captive elephants to successfully adapt to a free-living

Our first volunteers

ERT’s team is flourishing with remarkable individuals who are instrumental in advancing our research objectives and beyond. Its been a delight having our first field volunteers, Freya and Immy, form

Sibuya Game Reserve Joins our GWRP

Researching a new elephant population in the Eastern Cape gives us the opportunity to continue learning more about the unique behavioural cultures present in each reserve.

Study of epigenetics of African elephants.

With the support of Humane World for Animals, we are collaborating to understand the effect of large impact events on the epigenetics (the study of how the environment and lifestyle

New calves, new beginnings

Since 2021, the Reintegrated herd on !Khamab Kalahari Reserve welcomed one new calf in 2021 and the Wild herd was blessed with two new calves in 2023. These two herds

GPS collared study animals continue to give us insight into elephant movements

Throughout the course of 2022-2023, we have collared seven elephants and continue to monitor them. Movement patterns of elephants on fenced reserves forms an essential part of our long-term research