South Africa has many reserves with small to medium sized elephant (Loxodonta africana) populations, most of which have been translocated (some with unknown histories). Limited research has been conducted on the impact of various management actions and different tourist protocols on the welfare status of elephants. Bad welfare may lead to serious consequences such as increased aggression towards heterospecifics. Therefore, the aim of the study was to define behavioural welfare parameters for free ranging elephants. The eight study sites incorporated reserves with different combinations of social structures, histories, reserve sizes, management, and tourist intensities. To accurately represent trends in each reserve, focal samples (10-minute focused observation sessions) as well as faecal samples were collected of all subsets of each reserve’s elephant population. The study focused on the ambivalent behavioural category (some of which are often overlooked as relevant) to indicate possible factors influencing the welfare of the elephants. One of the reserves (83% of population is ex-captive) had relatively higher mean frequencies of ambivalent behaviour (5.91 ± 7.45) than the other reserves. The study also showed differences between selected detailed behaviours of the eight reserves, indicating that these behaviours are useful to focus on when assessing welfare of elephants. Higher faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations reported for ex-captive elephants and/or populations with incomplete age structures, supported the behavioural data/findings. Future research is needed to assess which particular environmental and life history factors affect elephants most. This will enable reserve managers to implement appropriate strategies to ensure improved welfare of their elephants.