Fitting an elephant with a GPS collar allows researchers to track location at regular intervals, providing real-time data on its movements within wild systems. This technology not only makes it easier to locate specific individuals for behavioral observation but also enables continuous logging of their movements over time. It offers valuable insights into how elephants asses their environment before establishing their home ranges and interact with other collared individuals in the same ecosystem.
Collaring an elephant for research should be approached with discernment, justified only when the potential benefits clearly outweigh the risks to the animal’s well-being.
Collaring elephants can enable us to answer valuable research questions which allows us opportunities to understand…
· Understand the effect of the introduction of wild elephants on the behaviour and movement patterns of a resident, rewilded population that needed other elephants to socially engage with
Understand their impact on the vegetation and how they utilize the reserve’s resources and whether they can continue to thrive in a sustainable manner.
Study the effect of older bull introductions on systems where older bulls were previously absent and bull dynamics were skewed and lacking social stability.
We have been actively involved in multiple important elephant collaring operations on several reserves, with the goal of generating meaningful data that contributes to informed decision-making and long-term elephant conservation efforts.
Both the collaring operation and the continuous collection of the data come at a cost and we need your help to ensure we can continue to monitor, track and understand the effects of changes to make educated decisions for their wellbeing.
Support by making a financial donation to cover the costs of collaring. All donations are deeply appreciated.
Sponsor the collaring of an elephant and have the chance to be there on the day, witnessing the process from start to finish.
The collection of the data from the collar comes at a monthly cost. Donate towards an elephants data collection and receive regular updates.
