© Jane Wynyard
Securing A Future For Elephants
Our mission is to secure a future for elephants and to sustain the beauty and ecological integrity of the places they live; to promote man’s delight in their intelligence and the diversity of their world, and to develop a tolerant relationship between the two species.
Save the Elephants is deeply saddened by the deaths of Sarara and Yeager. For decades, both curious and loveable elephants were part of our herd in Samburu, northern Kenya. When Sarara was speared a year ago, needing urgent medical attention, we were all completely shocked. But he recovered quickly, gaining enough strength to make it through Kenya’s crippling drought, only to die at the hands of humans a year later. Yeager, the stately gentleman who first introduced Sarara to ‘camp life’ when he was just a youngster, was also been killed in his prime.
As human-elephant conflict increases across Africa, farmers need practical, sustainable and affordable ways to peacefully co-exist with elephants without having to resort to violence. Save the Elephants has developed a unique ‘how to’ manual, the Human-Elephant Coexistence (HEC) Toolbox of tried and tested elephant deterrents to empower rural communities to protect their livelihoods from elephants. Built on the success of STE’s Elephants and Bees Project in Tsavo, the Toolbox is the brainchild of Dr Lucy King who heads up STE’s Human-Elephant Coexistence program.
Save the Elephants was fortunate to be part of the 19th meeting of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP19) held in Panama to discuss jumbo matters and give elephants a voice. It was incredible to see all the different representatives from around the globe gathered in one place to discuss important wildlife matters. Our team comprised Dr. Lucy King (Head of Human-Elephant Coexistence Program), Dr. Chris Thouless (Director of Research & Elephant Crisis Fund), Dr. Festus Ihwagi (Research Scientist in Spatial Ecology) and Meha Kumar (HEC Toolbox Research Assistant).
Elephants are Africa’s gardeners and landscape engineers, planting seeds and creating habitat wherever they roam. Without urgent action to save their species, elephants could disappear from the wild within a single generation. Approximately 100,000 elephants in Africa were killed for their ivory in just three years between the years 2010 & 2012.
See the latest news and scientific publications from Save the Elephants
Rare, ‘one-in-a-million’ footage of a critically endangered wild forest elephant fleeing from a technologically generated bee sound, has been captured by a wildlife camera trap in remote Liberia, western Africa.
As human-elephant conflict continues to rise across Africa, researchers are searching for new ways to keep a watchful eye on wild African elephants, even looking to space for guidance.
The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most high-value illicit trade sectors globally, threatening both human well-being and biodiversity.
Historically, elephants and humans have been integral players in the structuring of the African savanna landscape.
© Frank af Petersens
Leaders in elephant science, Save the Elephants provides cutting-edge scientific insights into elephant behavior, intelligence, and long-distance movement and applies them to the long-term challenges of elephant conservation.
The Samburu elephant population is one of the most extensively studied in the world. The elephants’ births, deaths, and interactions are closely monitored, making this population a valuable resource for understanding elephant society. Read more here
We conduct vital research on elephant behaviour and ecology and pioneered GPS radio tracking in Africa to provide fresh insight into the life of elephants. Our solid scientific data has helped shift international policy towards a better future for the species. Read more here
Our STE Wildtracks App enables us to conduct real-time monitoring of elephant movements. The data compiled is used to make critical decisions about elephant corridors as well as to respond quickly to elephants in distress. Read more here
