The Forest Elephant GPS Telemetry Program was initiated in 1998 in response to the near complete lack of information on the home range requirements, ranging patterns, and seasonal movements of forest elephants in central African forests. Savannah elephants use thousands of square kilometers when their ranging is unrestricted, and if forest elephants have similarly large area requirements, range management and national park design must be developed on an adequate scale. Operational in 3 nations, 6 national parks, and across a wide variety of habitats, this study provides critical information to land-use planners, park managers, and governments.

This project is conducted in close collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) that pioneered the use of GPS-telemetry for savannah elephant research and conservation. When first approached by WCS, Save The Elephants saw the potential of using GPS telemetry for forest elephant conservation, and funded the first 6 collars deployed in Central Africa. Save The Elephants continue to share their vast experience and expertise with the WCS team and have generously donated a total of 14 GPS telemetry collars.

The only significant enemy of the forest elephant is man, and man determines the distribution of elephants. As human populations grow, and roads, villages and towns encroach deeper into the forest, forest elephant range is becoming restricted and fragmented. Human-elephant conflict is inevitable as the two species compete for ever more limited space. Understanding ranging and habitat requirements of elephants will help planners avert irreversible impacts on elephant populations and mitigate the negative impacts of elephants on human well-being. Despite the international ban on trade in elephant products, poaching for ivory is still the biggest cause of forest elephant decline. However as bush meat supplies dwindle across central Africa, elephant meat is becoming commercially viable. Forest loss and fragmentation are reducing elephant habitat, fragmenting contiguous populations and allowing easy access to formerly isolated elephant poachers.

Biologists and conservation site managers from WCS are working with collaborators to deploy a total of over 30 GPS collars across critical elephant conservation areas in central African forests. We are proud of the part we play in what has become a truly collaborative field research and conservation venture. We have developed sampling plans, which meet scientific and management information requirements, while respecting the pre-requisite of minimizing risk to both elephants and humans. Field veterinarians from the WCS Field Vet Program supervise immobilization and ensure the highest standards of elephant handling during collar deployment. A pygmy tracking team, composed of former elephant hunters of the BaAka pygmies, has been trained over several years to help veterinarians approach and dart elephants efficiently – their lifetime experience being critical to success in the thick forest conditions of central Africa.