The first time I saw an elephant in the wild was on a 2024 volunteer research trip in South Africa with Bring the Elephant Home (BTEH). I remember the moment so clearly. I had been in the back row of an open-air Land Rover for hours when our driver, Thomas, suddenly slowed and then stopped, along with all conversation. And then I heard it, a symphony of snaps. And then I saw it, a flash of gray on the rise just ahead, moments before the biggest animal I had ever seen emerged from the brush and onto the path, shortly followed by another, and then two more.
It was the kind of experience I’d been programmed to want to photograph since I bought my first iPhone, but Sam had the camera. I had the tablet, Sally had the binoculars, and our team had a job to do. The second PhD candidate Brooke pointed at us and then to a female elephant I later learned was called Belle. Sally, sitting next to me, quietly narrated Belle’s movements and I ticked boxes on the ZooMonitor app for every incident of grazing, browsing, trunk curling, locomotion, touching, play sparring and more. For the next 14 minutes, the two other three-person teams on the vehicle did the same with their assigned elephants. Then the herd, which had grown in number since we’d spotted the first four, ambled into the brush and disappeared, bringing silence back to this vast landscape and leaving every one of us in awe at what we’d just witnessed.
Once they were safely out of range, a few of us jumped out of the vehicle to take care of the final task of this “focal” session: collecting dung samples to help measure the health and stress levels of the herd. The numbers would be particularly interesting to take a look at and analyze. In the time between the last research trip and the present one, a fence had come down within the Kariega Game Reserve in South Africa. Elephants that had once been separated were encountering each other for the first time.
Why studying wild elephant behavior matters
You don’t have to go on such a trip to appreciate and see value in these iconic creatures—though I recommend you do. But you might not know how much elephants’ existence on this planet matters and why studying their behavior and welfare is so important.
- Everywhere they go, elephants reshape their environment: As they eat and roam, elephants help maintain the delicate balance that keeps entire ecosystems going.
- It helps prevent costly conflicts: Understanding elephant movement patterns, stress indicators, and habitat requirements helps us predict and prevent dangerous encounters with humans. This knowledge can save lives while reducing expensive management interventions.
- It makes coexistence possible: When we know how elephants use space and respond to human activity, we can design management strategies that allow humans and elephants to thrive in shared landscapes.
- It enables better reserve design, especially in closed systems: Behavioral research reveals what elephants truly need: refuge areas, proper viewing guidelines, and adequate space to roam and exhibit natural behavioral and migration patterns. Without this knowledge, even well-intentioned conservation efforts fail.
- It informs policy decisions: Behavioral data provides the scientific foundation for evidence-based conservation policies, from animal welfare standards to habitat protection laws.
- It facilitates successful reintroduction: As elephant populations recover, understanding their behavioral needs becomes critical for successful translocation and reintroduction programs.
The case for conservation investment
- Economic multiplier effects: Elephant conservation creates sustainable tourism revenue streams that generate employment opportunities in local communities.
- Biodiversity protection: Protecting elephant habitats safeguards entire ecosystems, helping to preserve the web of species that depend on these landscapes.
- Climate action: Elephant habitats store massive amounts of carbon, making their protection an important component of global climate change mitigation strategies.
- Cultural preservation: For many communities, elephants hold deep cultural and spiritual significance. Conservation efforts help preserve these connections.
- Research and innovation: Investment in elephant conservation drives scientific discoveries that benefit broader conservation efforts and improve our understanding of complex socio-ecological systems.
Building bridges, not barriers
Elephant conservation, of course, is about saving an iconic species, but it’s also about creating a world where both people and wildlife can thrive. Every time researchers learn something new about elephant behavior, they’re getting closer to discovering the code for sustainable conservation. This world can use all the wisdom it can get. Even if it comes from observing some very large, very intelligent animals going about their daily lives as I did in 2024.
